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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notos/Notas  techniquas  at  bibiiographiquaa 


Tha  Instituta  has  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  bast 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturas  of  this 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagas  in  tha 
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Couvartura  da  coulaur 

Covars  damagad/ 
Couvartura  andommagAa 

Covars  rastorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastaurAa  at/ou  pailiculAa 

Covar  titia  missing/ 

La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  maps/ 

Cartas  gAographiquas  an  coulaur 

Colourad  Ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 

Colourad  plataa  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planchas  at/ou  illustrations  an  coulaur 

Bound  with  othar  material/ 
RaliA  avac  d'autras  documents 

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La  re  liure  serrAe  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
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have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certeines  pages  blenches  aJoutAas 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaiaaant  dans  la  texte. 
mais,  lorsqua  ceia  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  At*  filmAes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentairee  supplAmantaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  la  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At*  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  d*tails 
da  cat  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut**tre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographiqua.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithoda  normaie  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


I     I   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


This  item  Is  filmed  et  the  reduction  retio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  rMuotlon  indlqu*  ci-dessous. 


TN 
to 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommegAes 


□   Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurAes  at/ou  pelliculAes 

0   Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dicoiorAes.  tachatAes  ou  piquAes 

□   Pages  detached/ 
Pages  dAtachAes 

0Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

□   Quality  of  print  varies/ 
QualitA  inAgale  de  I'lmpreasion 

□   Includes  supplementary  materiel/ 
Comprend  du  matAriel  supplAmentaire 

□   Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Adition  disponible 


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Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  peges  totalement  ou  partlellement 
obaouroias  par  un  feuillet  d'arrata,  une  pelure, 
etc..  ont  AtA  filmAee  A  nouveau  de  fa^on  A 
obtenir  le  meilleure  Imege  possible. 


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Th«  copy  fllm«d  h«r«  hat  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  consldaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spaclficatlons. 


L'axamplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grAca  A  la 
gAnArositA  da: 

BibliothAqua  nationala  du  Canada 


Las  Imagas  suivantas  ont  Ati  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattatA  da  l'axamplaira  filmA,  at  9n 
conformitA  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  lllustratad  Impraa- 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  fllmad  baglnning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  lllustratad  impraa- 
sion,  and  anding  on  thp  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  lllustratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microflcha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  ^^  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  y  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appllas. 

Maps,  platas,  charts,  ate.  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antiraly  includad  In  ona  axposura  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  in  tha  uppar  laft  hand  corner,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framas  as 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrams  illustrata  tha 
mathod: 


Las  axamplalras  orlglnaux  dont  la  couvarture  •!% 
papiar  ast  ImprimAa  sont  f  llmAs  9n  commanpant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplalras 
orlglnaux  sont  filmAs  an  commandant  par  la 
pramlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  das  symbolas  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
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cas:  la  symbols  — »•  signifia  "A  8UIVRE".  la 
symbols  ▼  signifia  "FIN". 

Laa  cartas,  planchas,  tablaaux,  ate,  pauvant  Atra 
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Er 

THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


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LIFE 


or 


JOHN   LEDYARD, 


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THE 


AMERICAN  TRAVELLER; 


COMPRISING   HBLECTIORB 


FROM  HIS  JOURNALS  AND  CORRESPONDENCE. 


BY  JARED  ^PARKS. 


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CAMBRIDGE, 
PUBLISHED  BY  HILLIARD  AND  BROWN  j 

AND  BY 
HILLIARD,  ORAV.  LITTLK,  AND  WII.KINS,  AND  RICMARDHON  AND  LORD, 

BorroN;  o.  and  o.  carvill,  new  york  ;  uarky,  lea, 

AND  CAUEY,  PHILADELPHIA. 


1828. 


DISTRICT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  TO  WIT. 

District  Clerk's  Office. 

Be  it  remembered,  that  on  the  twentyfourth  day  of  November,  1827,  in  the 
fiftysecond  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Hil- 
liurd  k.  Brown,  of  the  said  district,  have  deposited  in  this  office  the  title 
of  a  book,  the  right  whereof  they  claim  as  proprietofs,  in  the  words  fol- 
lowing, viz. 

"  1  he  Life  of  John  Ledyard,  the  American  Traveller ;  comprising  Selec- 
tions from  his  Journals  and  Correspondence.     By  Jar«>d  Sparks." 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  th«  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled  "  An 
act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  ihe  copies  of  maps, 
charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  (he 
times  therein  mentioned  ;"  and  also  to  an  act,  entitled  "  An  act  sup|)lenuMi(d- 
ry  to  an  act,  enlillcd  '  An  act  for  (he  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing 
the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  (o  (he  authors  and  proprie(ors  of  such 
copies,  during  (he  (imes  therein  mentioned,'  and  ex(ending  the  benefKs 
thereof  (o  the  arts  of  desiguiug,  engraving,  uud  etching  historical  and  other 
prints." 

JiNO.   W.  DAVIS, 

Clerk  of  the  District  of  Mtusachutctts. 


CAMBRIDGE. 

HiiUard,  Metcalf,  and  Company, 
Frinuurt  to  (h«  Viurenity. 


.•*t*' 


PREFACE. 


Soon  after  the  death  of  John  Ledyard,  tlie  subject  of  llie 
fellowing  memoir,  some  progress  was  made  in  collecting  ma- 
terials for  an  account  of  his  life,  by  Dr  Isaac  Ledyard,  tlien  of 
New  York.  The  biographer's  task  was  never  begun,  however, 
and  the  project  was  abandoned  ;  but  the  papers  procured  for  the 
purpose  have  been  preserved  by  the  family  of  Dr  Ledyard,  and 
have  furnished  the  facts  for  much  the  larger  portion  of  the  pres- 
ent narrative.  Researches  have  also  been  made  in  otlier  quar- 
ters, and  important  original  letters  obtained.  Particular  ac- 
knowledgment is  due  to  Mr  Henry  Seymour,  of  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  for  tlie  aid  ho  hus  rendered  in  this  respect.  AU 
the  papers  that  have  been  iscd  are  entitled  to  the  credit  of 
unquestionable  authenticity. 

Wherever  it  could  be  done,  without  deviating  too  much  from 
a  regular  and  proportionate  train  of  events,  the  traveller  has 
been  allowed  to  speak  for  himself.  His  manner  of  thinking, 
as  well  as  of  acting,  was  so  peculiar,  that  a  true  picture  of  his 
mind  and  genius,  his  motives  and  feelings,  could  with  difficulty 
be  exhibited  in  any  other  way  with  so  much  distinctness,  as 
through  the  medium  of  his  own  language.  Free  and  full  se- 
lections from  his  letters  and  journals  arc  interspersed.  His  in- 
cessant activity,  want  of  leisure,  and  few  opportunities  of  prac- 


•t  <■ 


^l' 

AiLli 

i' 

B 1 

▼1  PREFACE. 

tising  composition  as  an  art,  afford  an  apology  for  tlie  imperfec- 
tions of  his  style,  which  the  candid  reader  will  regard  in  the 
favorable  light  it  deserves.  His  diction  is  never  polished,  and 
his  words  are  not  always  well  chosen  ;  but  his  ideas  are  often 
original,  copious,  well  combined,  and  forcibly  expressed. 

In  executing  this  work,  the  only  aim  has  been  to  bring 
together  a  series  of  facts,  which  should  do  justice  to  the  fume 
and  character  of  a  man,  who  possessed  qualities  and  performed 
deeds,  that  rendered  liim  remarkable,  and  are  wortliy  of  being 
remembered.  If  the  author  has  been  successful  in  this  attempt, 
he  is  rewarded  for  tlie  labor  it  has  cost  him. 


m 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 


Birth  and  parentage. — Early  education. — Bcgin'i  tlic  study  of  the  law. — 
Enters  Dartmoutli  College  with  a  view  to  qualify  himself  to  be  a  mission- 
ary among  the  Indians. — State  of  the  Indian  missions  at  that  time. — His 
fondness  for  theatrical  exhibitions  wliile  at  College. — Travels,  among  the 
Indians  of  the  Six  Nations. — His  return  to  College,  and  adventure  in  visit- 
ing a  mountain. — Constructs  a  canoe  at  Dartmoutli  College  witli  his  own 
hands,  and  descends  the  Connecticut  river  in  it  alone  to  Hartford. — Dan- 
gers of  the  passage. — His  singular  appearance  when  he  met  liis  friends. — 
His  enterprise  compared  to  tliat  of  Mungo  Park  on  the  Niger. 


CHAPTER  H. 

His  singular  letters  to  President  Wheelock. — Commences  the  study  of  the- 
ology. — His  embarrassments  on  this  occasion. — Visits  several  clergymen 
on  Long  Island,  and  pursues  his  studies  there  for  a  short  time. — Proposes 
teaching  a  school. — Returns  to  Connecticut,  and  meets  with  disappoint- 
ment in  his  hopes  of  being  settled  as  a  clergyman. — Abandons  his  purpose 
of  studying  divinity. — Sails  from  New  London  on  a  voyage  to  Gibraltar. 
— Enlists  there  as  a  soldier  in  the  regular  service. — Released  at  the  so- 
licitation of  the  captain  of  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed. — Returns  home 
by  way  of  the  Barbary  Coast  and  the  West  Indies. — Resolves  to  visit 
England,  and  seek  for  Ids  wealthy  family  connexions  in  that  country. — 
Sails  from  New  York  to  Plymouth. — Travels  thence  to  London  in  ex- 
treme poverty. — Realizes  none  of  his  expectations. — Enlists  in  the  naval 
service. — Gains  an  acquaintance  with  Captain  Cook,  and  embarks  with 
him  on  his  last  voyage  round  the  world,  in  the  capacity  of  corporal  of 
marines. 


20 


CHAPTER  III. 

Lcdyard'i  journal  of  his  voyage  with  Captain  Cook. — ^Testimony  in  his  favor 
by  Captain  Bumey.— Sails  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. — Thence  to  Ker- 
guelen's  Islands  and  the  south  of  New  Holland. — Charmcter  of  the  p«o- 


VIII 


CONTENTS. 


pie  on  Van  Dicmen's  Land. — Present  state  of  the  Colony  there. — Arrives 
in  New  Zealand. — Account  of  the  people,  their  manners  and  peculiarities. 
— Remarkalde  contrasts  exhibited  in  their  character. — Love  adventure 
between  an  English  sailor  and  a  New  Zealand  girl. — Oinai,  the  Otahei- 
tan. — Vessels  depart  from  New  Zealand,  and  fall  in  with  newly  discovered 
islands. — Affecting  story  of  three  Otaheitans  found  on  one  of  them. — Ar- 
rival at  the  Friendly  Islands. — People  of  Tongataboo. — Their  condition, 
mode  of  living,  and  amusements. — Lcdyard  passes  a  night  with  the  king. 
— Wrestling  and  other  athletic  exercises  described. — Fireworks  exhibited 
by  Cook. — Propensity  of  the  natives  to  thieving. — An  instance  in  a  chief 
called  Feenou,  and  the  extraordinary  measures  used  to  recover  the  stolen 
property. — Departure  from  Tougutaboo.         -        -        -        -        .        -    37 


h';i 


I 


.  CHAPTEK  IV. 

Society  Islands. — Otahcite. — Lcdyard's  description  of  the  language,  cus- 
toms, religion,  laws,  and  govcrmncnt  of  the  natives. — Their  probiU)!c  faith 
in  the  doctrine  of  transmigration. — Uemarks  on  his  mode  of  reasoning  on 
this  subject. — His  theory  of  the  origin  of  customs  and  superstitions. — 
Notions  of  a  Deity  among  the  Otaheitanp. — Conduct  of  Omai. — Difficul- 
ties attending  the  efforts  to  civilize  savages. — Sandwich  Islands  discov- 
ered.— The  vessels  proceed  to  the  American  continent,  and  anchor  in 
Nootka  Sound. — Appearance  and  manners  of  the  people. — Indian  wam- 
pum.— Tlie  abundance  of  fius. — Cannil)alisin. — Curious  digression  on  the 
origin  and  practice  of  sacrifices. — Captain  Cook  passes  Bering's  Strait, 
explores  the  northern  ocean  till  stopped  by  the  ice,  and  returns  to  the 
island  of  Onalaska. — Sends  Ledyard  with  two  Indians  in  search  of  a  Rus- 
sian establishment  on  the  coast. — His  account  of  this  adventure. — In 
what  manner  he  was  transported  in  a  canoe. — Village  of  Russians  and  In- 
dians.— Hot  baths. — Their  habitations  and  manner  of  living  described. — 
Bering's  vessel. — Ledyard  returns  to  the  ships,  and  reports  to  Captain 
Cook. — Expedition  returns  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,      -        -        .        . 


61 


CHAPTER  V. 

TIic  ships  anchored  in  Kcarakekua  bay. — First  interview  with  the  natives. — 
Reverence  witli  which  they  regarded  Cook. — Tents  erected  for  astronom- 
ical ohser^'ations. — Ceremonies  at  tlie  meeting  of  Cook  with  tlic  old 
king. — Ledyard  forms  tlio  project  of  ascending  the  high  mountain  in  Ha- 
waii, called  by  the  natives  Mouna  Roa. — Description  of  his  ascent,  and 
cause  of  his  ultimate  failure. — The  natives  begin  to  show  symptoms  of 
uneasiness  at  the  presence  of  the  strangers,  and  to  treat  them  with  disre- 
spect.— Offended  at  the  encroachment  made  on  their  Moral. — Cook  de- 
parts from  Kearakekua  bay,  but  is  compelled  to  return  by  a  heavy  storm, 
that  overtakes  liim,  and  injures  his  ships.— Natives  receive  him  coldly.— 


K 


CONTENTS. 


11 


They  steal  one  of  the  sliip's  boats,  whicli  Cook  endeavors  to  recover. — 
Goes  on  shoie  for  the  purpose. — Is  there  attacked  by  the  natives  and 
sinin. — Ledyard  accompanied  him  on  shore,  and  was  near  his  person  when 
killed. — His  description  of  the  event. — Expedition  sails  for  Kamtschatka, 
explores  again  the  Polar  seas,  and  returns  to  England. — Ledyard's  opin- 
ions respecting  the  lirst  peopling  of  the  South  Sea  Islands. — Other  re- 
marks relating  to  this  subject,  founded  on  the  analogy  of  languages,  and 
maimei^i  of  the  people. — Characteristics  of  Ledyard's  journal. — Estima- 
tion in  wliich  he  held  Captain  Cook. 


92 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Ledyard  returns  to  America — Interview  with  his  mother  after  an  absence  of 
eight  years. — Passes  the  winter  in  Hartford,  and  writes  his  Journal  of  Cook's 
Voyage. — Visits  New  York  and  Philadelphia  to  concert  with  the  mer- 
chants the  pliUi  of  a  commercial  expedition. — Robert  Morris  agrees  to  en- 
gage in  a  trading  voyage,  under  his  direction,  to  the  Northwest  Coast. — 
Proceeds  to  Koston,  and  afterwards  to  New  London  and  New  York  to 
procure  a  vessel  for  the  purpose. — Failure  of  the  enterprise,  after  a  year 
had  been  spent  in  fruitless  attempts  to  carry  it  into  eflect. — Letters  to  his 
mother. — Makes  a  trial  in  New  London  to  enlist  the  merchants  of  that 
place  in  his  scheme. — Was  the  first  to  propose  a  voyage  for  a  merchan- 
tilc  adventure  to  the  Northwest  Coast. — Sails  for  Cadiz. — Letters  from 
that  city  containing  political  remarks. — Sails  for  L'Orient. —  Makes  an 
agreement  with  a  company  of  merchants  there  to  aid  him  in  such  a 
voyage,  as  he  had  proposed  in  America. — After  eight  months' preparation, 
it  is  given  up. — Goes  to  Paris.      - •  12(» 


I  ".r 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Meets  with  Mr  Jefferson  at  Paris. — Project  of  a  voyage  to  the  Northwest 
Coast  with  Paul  Jones,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  trading  factory 
there. — Proposes  travelling  across  the  continent  from  Nootka  Sound  to 
the  United  States — Thinks  of  going  to  Africa  with  Mr  Lamb. — Remarks 
on  Paris,  and  various  objects  that  came  under  his  notice- — Tlie  king  at 
Versailles. — Mr  Jefferson  and  Lafayette. — The  Queen  at  St  Cloud. — Ap- 
plication through  Baron  Grimm  to  the  Empress  of  Russia,  to  obtain  per- 
mission for  him  to  travel  across  her  dominions  to  Bering's  Strait. — Colonel 
flumphreys. — Contemplates  going  to  Petersburgh,  before  the  Empress' 
answer  is  received. — Curious  anecdote  of  Sir  James  Hall. — Visit  to  the 
hospitals  in  Paris. — Tour  in  Normandy. — Proceeds  to  London,  where  he 
engages  a  passage  on  board  a  vessel  just  ready  to  sail  for  the  Northwest 
Coast. — Colonel  Smith's  letter  to  Mr  Jay. — The  voyage  defeated. — Re- 
solves anew  to  go  to  Russia. — Sir  Joseph  Banks  and  other  gentlemen 

contribute  funds  to  aid  him  in  his  travels Ii3 

h 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Lcilyard  proceeds  to  Hamburg.— Goes  to  Copenha{i;en,  where  he  meets 
Major  Lana:lM)rn,  another  American  traveller. — Endeavors  to  perssuade 
Lanfrbom  to  accompany  him  on  hia  tour,  but  in  vain. — Continues  his 
route  to  Sweden,  and  is  disappointed  in  not  beinK  able  to  cross  the  Gulf 
of  Bothnia  on  the  ice. — Journey  rouml  the  Gulf  into  the  Arctic  Circle  on 
foot,  through  Sweden,  Lapland,  and  Finland.— Maupertuis'  description  of 
tho  cold  at  Tomea. — Anives  at  Petersburg,  where  he  is  befriended  by 
Professor  Pallus  an«i  others. — Procures  a  passport  from  the  Empress, 
throu^rh  the  sigency  of  Count  Segur,  the  Front  b  ambassador.— Sets  out 
for  Siberia,  and  travels  by  way  of  Moscow  to  Kazan,  a  town  on  the  river 
Wolga. — Crosses  the  Uralian  Mountains.  Some  account  of  the  city  of 
Tobolsk. — P.oroed-  to  Ra:iiiinul  an.l  Tomsk. — De<c  iptious  of  the  country 
and  the  iiiliiiliitants — Character  and  condition  of  the  exiles  at  Tomsk. — 
Fossil  boni'<. — Curious  mounds  and  tombs  of  tlie  ancient  natives. — 
Arrives  at  Irkutsk. 178 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Residence  at  Irkutsk. — MI:<ccllaneous  remarks  on  tlie  inhabitants,  and  the 
productions  of  the  county. — Accounts  of  the  Tartars. — Unsuccos-ful  at- 
tempts to  civilize  tbeni. — Fur  trade  on  the  American  coast. — Visit  to  the 
Lake  Haikul. — Further  remarks  on  tlie  character  an«l  manni'rs  of  the  Kal- 
muks  and  other  Tartars. — Leaves  Irkutsk  for  the  river  Lena. — Scenery 
around  the  Baikal. — Kivers  flow  in:::  into  it. — Extraordinary  depth  of  its 
waters. — Tlioy  are  fu'sb,  but  contiiin  scnh,  and  iish,  peculiar  to  the 
ocean. — Kitiinate  of  the  nuinlter  of  rivers  in  Siberia,  and  of  the  quantity 
of  water  they  pour  into  the  Fi-ozen  Ocean. — Ledyard  proceeds  down  the 
Lena  in  a  bateau. — Romantic  scenery'  along  the  margin  of  the  river. — 
Hospitality  of  the  inhabitants. — Ends  his  voyage  at  Yakutsk.  •        •  20t 


CHAPTER  X. 

Interview  wWh  the  Commandant  at  Yakutsk. — Slopped  at  this  place  on  ac- 
connl  of  tho  atlvanced  stale  of  the  season. — His  severe  di^appoiiilineiit 
at  thl<  event. — Detained  under  fal<e  pretences. — Takes  up  his  residence 
in  Yakutsk  for  tho  winter. — Elephant's  boiiei  on  the  banks  of  the  Lena, 
and  In  oilier  parts  of  the  country. — (lenerul  remarks  on  the  various  tribes 
of  Tartars  in  Siberia. — Characterislics  of  savages  in  cold  and  warm  cli- 
mates.— Kalinuks  have  two  niodes  of  willing. — Their  manner  of  living. — 
Tho  Yakuti  Tartars. — Iniluence  of  religion  upon  them. — The  loveof  free- 
dom common  to  all  the  Tartars.— Their  dwellings. — Intemiariiagcs  be- 
tween the  UmsxI.uis  and  Tartars. — In  what  degree  the  color  of  descend- 
ants is  airected  by  such  intermarriages.— Peculiarities  of  features  in  the 
Turtarcounlenance.— Foiiu  auduse  of  tho  Tartar  pipe.— Dress — DIID- 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


culty  of  taking  vocabularies  of  unlcnown  languages. — Marriage  eercmo* 
Dies. — Notions  of  theology. — Practice  of  scalping. — Wampum. — Classifi- 
cation of  the  Tartars  and  North  American  Indians. — Language  a  criterion 
forjudging  of  the  affinity  between  the  different  racRs  of  men. — Causes  of 
the  difference  of  color  in  the  human  race. — Tartars  and  American  Indians 
the  same  people. 


227 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Climate  in  Siberia. — Extreme  cold. — Congelation  of  quicksilver. — Images  in 
Russian  huu-ses. — Attention  paid  to  dogs. — Ice  windows. — Jealousy  of 
the  Russians. — Moral  condition  of  the  Russians  in  Siberia. — Ledyard's 
celebrated  eulogy  on  women. — Captain  Billings  meets  him  at  Yakutsk, 
on  his  return  from  tlie  Frozen  Ocean. — Bering's  discovery  of  the  strait 
called  after  his  name. — Russian  voyages  of  discovery. — Bering's  death. — 
Russian  fur  tinde. — Billings's  expedition. — His  incompetency-  to  the  un- 
dertaking.— His  instructi(<ns  neariy  the  same  as  thoxe  drawn  up  by  Peter 
the  Great  for  Bering. — Some  of  their  principal  features  enumerated.        -  256 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Ledyard  departs  from  Yakutsk,  and  returns  to  Irkutsk  up  the  Lena  on  the  ice. — 
Is  seized  by  order  of  the  Empress,  and  hurried  off  in  the  charge  of  two 
guards. — Returns  through  Siberia  to  Kazan. — His  remarks  on  the  pe- 
culiarity of  his  fate. — Further  observations  on  the  Tartars. — No  good 
account  of  them  has  ever  been  written. — Passes  Moscow  and  arrives  in 
Poland. — Left  by  his  guards,  with  an  injunction  never  to  appear  again  in 
Russia. — Health  much  impaired  by  his  sufferings. — Proceeds  to  Konigs- 
berg,  and  thence  to  London. — Inquiry  into  the  motives  of  the  Empress 
for  her  cruel  treatment  of  him. — Her  pretences  of  humanity  not  to  l)0 
credited. — Her  declaration  to  Count  Segur  on  the  subject. — Dr  Clarke's 
explanation  incorrect. — The  true  cause  was  the  jealousy  of  the  Russian 
American  Fur  Company,  by  whose  inlhience  his  recall  was  procured 
from  the  Empress. — Lafayette's  remark  on  her  conduct  in  this  particular.  273 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Interview  with  Sir  Joseph  Banks  in  London. — Engages  to  travel  in  Africa 
under  the  auspices  of  the  African  Association. — Retriarkable  instance  of 
decision  of  character. — Letter  to  Dr  Ledyard,  containing  miscellaneous 
particulars  respecting  his  travels  and  circiunstances. — Description  of  his 
Siberian  dressei. — Origin  and  purposes  of  the  African  Association. — An- 
cient and  present  state  of  Africa. — Benefits  of  discoveries  in  that  conti- 
nent.— Letter  from  Ledyard  to  his  mother. — His  remarks  to  Mr  Beaufoy 
CD  hU  departure  for  Egypt^ — Yislta  Mr  Jelfenion  and  Lafayette  in  Paris. — 


:'i 


m. 


XII 


CONTENTS. 


Sails  from  Marseilles  to  Alexandria  in  Egj'pt. — Description  of  Alexandria, 
in  a  letter  to  Mr  Jefferson. — Arrives  in  Cairo. — Description  of  the  city, 
and  of  his  passage  up  the  Nile. 28tt 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Remarks  on  the  appearance  of  the  country  in  ])assing  up  the  Nile. — Con- 
dition of  a  Christian  at  Cairo. — Interview  with  the  Aga. — .Miscellaneous 

-  observations  on  the  customs  of  the  Arui)s,  and  other  races  ol  people  found 
in  Cairo. — Information  respecting  the  interior  of  Africa. — Visit  to  the  cara- 
vans and  slave  markets. — The  traveller's  reflections  on  liis  circumstances 
and  prospects. — His  last  letter  to  Mr  Jefferson. — Joins  a  caravan  and  pre- 
pares to  de|)art  for  Scnnaar. — He  is  taken  suddenly  ill. — His  deatli. — 
Account  of  his  person  and  character. 


308 


ifl^ 


ERRATA. 

Page  J 40,  lino  20,  before  Ctidiz  insert ./roHi. 
"     17d,  "      2,  and  in  scviial  Inslances  id'lorwards,  for  Ijinghom  read 


// 


THE 


LIFE  AND  TRAVELS 


OI> 


JOHN  LEDYARD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth  and  parentage. — Early  education. — Begins  the  study  of  the  law. — Enters 
Dartmouth  College  witli  a  view  to  qualify  himself  to  be  a  missionary  among 
the  Indians.— State  of  the  Indian  missions  at  that  time. — His  fondness  for 
theatrical  exhibitions  while  at  College. — Travels  among  the  Indiana  of  the 
Six  Nations. — His  return  to  College,  and  adventure  in  visiting  a  mountain. 
Constructs  a  canoe  at  Dartmouth  College  with  his  own  hands,  and  descends  the 
Connecticut  river  in  it  alone  to  Hartford. — Dangers  of  tlie  passage. — His  sin- 
gular appearance  when  he  met  his  friends. — His  cntorpriao  compared  to 
that  of  Mungo  Park  on  the  Niger. 

John  Ledyard,  the  celebrated  traveller,  was  born 
in  the  year  1751 ,  at  Groton,  in  Connecticut,  a  small 
village  on  the  bank  of  the  river  Thames,  opposite  to 
New  London.  The  place  of  his  birth  is  but  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  Fort  Griswold,  so  well  known  in 
the  history  of  the  American  revolution. 

His  grandfather,  named  also  John  Ledyard,  caine 
in  early  life  to  America,  and  settled  at  Southold,  Long 
Island,  as  a  small  trader  in  dry  goods.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Bristol,  England,  and  had  been  bred  a  mer- 
chant in  London.     Being  prosperous  in  business  at 

1 


>t  1 

i 

?'i 

m,  Mm' 

il'pff 

I'l-' 

m-: 

it  t 


2 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED  YARD. 


k      ^ 


f 


'I 

i 


Southold,  he  was  soon  married  to  a  lady  of  amiable 
qualities  and  j^ood  fortune,  the  daughter  of  Judge 
Young,  a  gentleman  of  character  and  influence  in 
that  ])la(;(?.  From  Southold  he  removed  to  Groton, 
where  he  purchased  an  estate,  and  resided  many  years. 
He  had  ten  children,  and  after  the  death  of  his 
wife  he  removed  to  Hartford,  in  Connecticut, 
and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  For  his 
second  wife  he  married  Mrs  Ellery,  a  respectable 
widow  lady  of  Boston. 

To  his  eldest  son,  who  had  the  same  name  as  him- 
self, he  gave  the  estate  at  Groton.  He  was  a  sea 
captain,  engaged  in  the  West  India  trade,  a  man  of 
sound  understanding,  vigorous  constitution,  and  indus- 
trious habits.  But  he  died  at  the  age  of  thirtyfive, 
leaving  a  widow  and  four  children,  three  sons  and 
one  daughter,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
was  the  eldest.  Colonel  William  Ledyard,  the 
brave  commander  in  the  memorable  action  of 
Fort  Griswold,  who  was  slain  after  the  capitula- 
tion, was   the  second  son. 

It  thus  appears,  that  John  Ledyard,  the  traveller, 
was  the  third  of  that  name  in  lineal  descent.  His 
mother,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Robert  Hempsted 
of  Southold,  has  been  described  as  a  lady  of  many 
excellencies  of  mind  and  character,  beautiful  in  per- 
son, well  informed,  resolute,  generous,  amiable,  kind, 
and  above  all  eminent  for  piety  and  the  religious  vir- 
tues. Such  a  mother  is  the  best  gift  of  Heaven  to 
a  family  of  helpless  young  children.  In  the  present 
instance  all  her  courage  and  all  her  strength  of  char- 
acter were  necessary,  to  carry  her  through  the  duties 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARI). 


3 


and  trials,  which  devolved  upon  her.  The  small 
estate,  which  had  belonged  to  her  husband  in  Groton, 
was,  by  some  strange  neglect  of  her  friends,  or  crimi- 
nal fraud  never  yet  explained,  taken  from  her  soon 
after  his  death.  During  a  visit  to  Long  Island,  the 
deed,  which  she  had  left  with  a  confidential  person, 
disappeared.  As  this  deed  was  the  only  evidence  of 
her  title  to  the  property,  and  her  claim  could  not  be 
substantiated  without  it,  the  whole  reverted  to  its 
former  owner,  her  husband's  fatlicr,  who  was  still 
living.  The  particulars  of  this  transaction  are  not 
now  known,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  inquire  into  them. 
It  is  enough  to  state  the  fact  that  such  an  event  occur- 
red, and  that  the  widowed  mother  with  four  infant 
children  was  thus  thrown  destitute  upon  the  world. 
In  this  condition  she  and  her  children  repaired  to  the 
house  of  her  father  in  Southold,  where  they  found  pro- 
tection and  support.  The  estate  at  Groton  after- 
wards fell  into  the  hands  of  Colonel  William  Lcdyard. 
It  may  be  supposed,  that  misfortune  did  not  weak- 
en her  parental  solicitude,  nor  make  her  neglectful  of 
her  high  trust.  The  education  of  her  children  was 
the  absorbing  object  of  her  thoughts  and  exertions. 
Her  eldest  son  was  now  of  an  age  to  receive  impres- 
sions, that  would  become  deeply  wrought  into  his 
mind,  and  give  a  decided  bias  to  his  future  character. 
In  the  marked  features  of  his  eventful  life,  eccentric 
and  extraordinary  as  it  was,  full  of  temptations,  cross- 
es, and  sufferings,  may  often  be  traced  lineaments  of 
virtues,  and  good  im})ulses,  justly  referred  to  such  a 
source,  to  the  early  cares  and  counsels  of  a  judicious, 
sensible,  and  pious  mother.     Nor  were  these  counsels 


'U 


liW; 


4 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


scattered  iu  a  vacant  mind,  nor  these  cares  wasted  on 
a  cold  heart ;  in  his  severest  disappointments  and  pri- 
vations, in  whatever  clime  or  among  whatever  people, 
whether  contending  with  the  fierce  snows  of  Siberia, 
or  the  burning  sands  of  Africa,  the  image  of  his  moth- 
er always  came  with  a  beam  of  joy  to  his  soul,  and 
was  cherished  there  with  delight.  Such  of  his 
letters  to  her,  as  have  been  preserved,  are  written 
with  a  tenderness  of  filial  affection,  that  could  flow 
only  from  an  acute  sensibility  and  a  good  heart. 

A  few  years  after  leaving  Groton,  and  settling  at 
Southold,  Mrs  Ledyard  was  married  to  a  second  hus- 
band, Dr  Moore  of  the  latter  place.  At  this  time  her 
son  John  was  taken  into  the  family  of  his  grandfather 
at  Hartford,  who,  from  that  period,  seems  to  have 
considered  him  as  wholly  under  his  charge.  Tradi- 
tion tells  of  peculiarities  in  his  manners  and  habits  at 
tltis  early  age,  of  acts  indicating  the  bent  of  his  genius, 
and  the  romantic  disposition,  that  gave  celebrity  to 
his  after  life.  But  no  record  of  his  schoolboy  adven- 
tures has  come  down  to  us,  and  we  are  left  to  conjec- 
ture in  what  manner  the  wild  spirits  of  a  youth  like 
his  would  exhibit  themselves.  He  attended  the 
grammar  school  in  Hartford,  it  is  to  be  presumed, 
with  commendable  proficiency,  since  he  was  at  first 
designed  for  the  profession  of  the  law.  Several 
months  were  passed  by  him  as  a  student  iu  the  office 
of  Mr  Thomas  Seymour,  a  respectable  lawyer  of  that 
place,  who  had  married  his  aunt.  Meantime  his 
grandfather  died,  and  Mr  Seymour  became  his  guar- 
dian, and  took  him  to  his  own  house.  Whether  Led- 
yard turned  his  thoughts  to  the  law  by  his  voluntary 


L1F£  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


6 


choice,  or  by  the  advice  and  wishes  of  his  friends,  who 
desired  to  quiet  his  temper,  by  fixing  him  in  some 
settled  pursuit,  is  not  related  ;  most  probably  the  lat- 
ter, for  it  was  soon  manifest,  that  neither  the  profound 
wisdom,  the  abstruse  learning,  nor  the  golden  prom- 
ises of  the  law,  had  any  charms  for  him.  It  was 
decided  without  reluctance  on  his  part,  therefore, 
that  he  should  leave  the  path,  which  he  had 
found  so  intricate,  and  in  which  he  had  made  so 
little  progress,  and  enter  upon  one  more  congenial 
to  his  inclination,  and  presenting  objects  more  attrac- 
tive to  his  taste  and  fancy. 

Here  was  a  difficult  point  to  be  determined.  The 
pursuit,  which  would  accord  best  with  the  propensities, 
temperament,  and  wishes  of  John  Ledyard,  and  best 
promote  his  future  usefulness  and  success,  was  a  thing 
not  to  be  decided,  even  at  that  time  of  his  life,  by  the 
common  rules  of  judging  in  such  cases ;  it  was  a  prelim- 
inary, which  no  one  probably  would  have  been  more 
perplexed  than  himself  to  establish.  Never  was  he  ac- 
customed to  look  forward  with  unwavering  predilec- 
tions, to  prepare  for  contingencies,  or  to  mark  out  a 
course  from  which  he  would  not  stray.  To  be  seeking 
some  distant  object,  imposing  and  attractive  in  his  own 
conceptions,  and  to  move  towards  it  on  the  tide  of  cir- 
cumstances, through  perils  and  difficulties,  was  among 
the  chief  pleasures  of  his  existence.  On  enterprises, 
in  which  no  obstacles  were  to  be  encountered,  no 
chances  to  be  run,  no  disappointments  to  be  appre- 
hended, no  rewards  of  hazardous  adventure  to  be 
looked  for,  he  bestowed  not  a  thought ;  but  let  a  pro- 
ject be  started,  thickly  beset  with  dangers,  and  prom- 


•  ii 


1, 

"I 


l^; 


O  LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 

ising  success  only  through  toils  and  sufferings,  deeds 
of  courage,  and  the  resolute  efforts  of  an  untiring 
spirit,  and  not  a  man  would  grasp  at  it  so  eagerly,  or 
pursue  it  with  so  much  intenseness  of  purpose.  The 
wholesome  maxim  of  providing  for  the  morrow  rarely 
found  «  place  in  his  ethics  or  his  practice ;  and  as  he 
never  allowed  himself  to  anticipate  misfortunes,  so  he 
never  took  any  pains  to  guard  against  them. 

He  was  now  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  with  very 
narrow  means,  few  friends,  and  no  definite  prospects. 
In  this  state  of  his  affairs,  as  it  was  necessary  for 
something  to  be  done,  he  was  compelled  to  look 
around  him,  and  for  a  moment  to  exercise  that  fore- 
sight, which  the  tenor  of  his  life  proves  him  to  have 
been  so  reluctant  on  most  occasions  to  call  to  his  aid. 
And,  after  all,  he  was  more  indebted  to  accident,  than 
to  his  own  deliberations,  for  the  immediate  events, 
that  awaited  him.  Dr  Wheelock,  the  amiable  and 
pious  founder  of  Dartmouth  College,  had  been  the  in- 
timate friend  of  his  grandfather,  and  prompted  by  the 
remembrance  of  this  tie,  he  invited  Ledyard  to  enter 
his  institution,  recently  established  at  Hanover,  New 
Hampshire,  amidst  the  forests  on  the  banks  of  the 
Connecticut  river.  This  offer  was  accepted,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1772,  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
this  new  seat  of  learning,  with  the  apparent  inten- 
tion of  qualifying  himself  to  become  a  missionary 
among  the  Indians. 

His  mother's  wishes  and  advice  had  probably  much 
influence  in  guiding  him  to  this  resolution.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  religious  spirit  of  that  day,  she  felt  a 
strong  compassion  for  the  deplorable  state  of  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Indians,  and  it  was  among  her  earliest  and  fondest 
hopes  of  this  her  favorite  son,  that  he  would  he  edu- 
cated as  a  missionary,  and  hecome  an  approved  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Providence  to  hring  these  de- 
graded and  suffering  heathen  to  a  knowledge  of  a  pure 
religion,  and  the  blessings  of  civilized  life.  When  she 
saw  this  door  opened  for  the  realizing  of  her  hopes, 
and  her  son  placed  under  the  charge  of  the  most 
eminent  laborer  of  his  day  in  the  cause  of  the  Indians, 
her  joy  was  complete. 

From  the  first  settlement  of  the  country  much  zeal 
and  much  disinterested  philanthropy  have  been  exer- 
cised, in  attempts  to  convert  the  Indians  to  Christianity, 
and  induce  them  to  adopt  the  manners  and  partici- 
pate the  comforts  of  civilized  men.  Eliot  (rightly 
named  the  apostle  of  the  Indians),  and  the  Mayhews, 
are  entitled  to  the  praises,  which  succeeding  times 
have  bestowed  on  them ;  and  the  efforts  of  the  Society 
in  Great  Britain  for  propagating  the  Gospel  in  foreign 
parts,  were  prompted  by  motives  of  the  noblest  kind, 
and  were  bestowed  with  an  ardor  and  with  sacrifices, 
that  demand  a  generous  tribute  from  the  pen  of  histo- 
ry, and  the  grateful  remembrance  of  posterity.  For 
many  years  little  had  been  done,  however,  till  the 
popular  talents  and  fervent  zeal  of  David  Brainerd 
caused  the  journals  of  his  missionary  tours  to  be  read 
throughout  the  country,  his  labors  applauded,  and  his 
success  regarded  as  an  evidence  of  the  great  work, 
that  might  be  wrought  by  the  use  proper  of  means. 

About  this  time  the  Reverend  Eleazer  Wheelock, 
who  was  then  a  settled  clergyman  in  Lebanon,  Con- 
necticut, formed  the  scheme  ot  an  Indian  School, 


1 


'U'.   1 


8 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


I 


!■!< 


which  should  have  the  double  object  of  preparing 
young  preachers  for  the  missionary  field,  and  of  edu- 
cating Indian  youth,  who  should  return  to  their  tribes, 
and  become  teachers  among  their  own  people.  With- 
out show  or  ostentation  Dr  Wheelock  commenced 
the  school  at  his  own  house,  and  almost  at  his  own 
charge.  He  began  with  two  pupils,  one  of  whom 
was  Sampson  Occum,  an  Indian  of  the  Mohegan  tribe, 
afterwards  so  much  celebrated  as  a  preacher,  and  for 
his  instructions  to  the  Indians.  The  school  gradually 
increased,  and  so  benevolent  an  undertaking,  pursued 
with  such  singleness  of  purpose,  could  not  fail  to 
attract  public  notice  and  approbation.  He  was  aided 
by  contributions  from  individuals,  and  the  province  of 
Massachusetts  voted  to  pay,  for  a  certain  time,  the 
expense  of  educating  six  Indian  children.  Mr  Joshua 
Moor,  who  owned  lands  in  Lebanon,  gave  a  portion 
of  them  for  the  benefit  of  this  school,  and  from  this 
circumstance,  the  seminary  for  the  education  of  In- 
dian boys,  afterwards  attached  to  Dartmouth  College, 
was  called  Moor^s  Indian  School, 

But  Dr  Wheelock  still  found,  that  pupils  from  the 
forest  flocked  to  him  faster,  than  he  could  provide  for 
them.  He  thought  it  now  time  to  adopt  the  expedient 
of  sending  to  England,  and  soliciting  assistance  from 
the  wealthy  and  charitable  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water.  For  this  object  Sampson  Occum,  and  another 
clergyman,  were  sent  out  as  agents,  furnished  with 
testimonials  of  their  character,  and  certificates  of  ap- 
probation from  eminent  persons  in  the  colonies.  Oc- 
cum was  looked  upon  as  a  wonder  in  England.  He 
was  the  first  Indian  preacher  from  North  America, 


■liAfiifcii 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


9 


that  ever  had  been  seen  in  the  Old  World ;  wherever 
he  went  crowds  gathered  around  him,  and  it  has  been 
the  lot  of  few  speakers  to  address  audiences  so  throng- 
ed. A  North  American  Indian  in  a  pulpit,  eloquently 
preaching  in  the  English  tongue,  was  a  phenomenon 
too  nearly  miraculous  to  pass  unseen  or  unheard.  It 
was  said,  moreover,  that  he  exhibited  in  his  person  and 
character,  a  practical  example  of  what  might  be  done 
with  Indians,  when  fairly  brought  under  the  influence 
of  instruction.  All  this  was  highly  favorable  to  the 
great  ends  of  the  mission,  and  in  a  few  months  a  sub- 
scription was  obtained,  and  money  paid  to  the  amount 
of  nearly  ten  thousand  pounds.  The  king  gave  two 
hundred  pounds,  and  several  gentlemen  one  hundred 
each.  The  money  was  deposited  in  the  hands  of  trus- 
tees in  England,  and  drawn  out  as  occasion  required. 
With  this  addition  to  his  resources,  Dr  Wheelock  began 
to  think  of  enlarging  the  plan  of  his  school,  and 
removing  nearer  to  the  frontiers,  both  to  diminish 
the  expense  of  living,  and  to  be  nearer  the  Indians. 
After  examining  several  situations,  he  selected  Hano- 
ver, then  almost  a  wilderness,  to  which  place  he 
removed  in  1770,  cut  away  the  trees,  and  erected  the 
the  institution,  which  he  called  Dartmouth  College,  in 
honor  of  Lord  Dartmouth,  who  had  manifested  zeal 
and  liberality  in  collecting  the  Indian  fund  in  England. 
To  this  college,  about  two  years  after  it  was  found- 
ed, Ledyard  resorted  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
arduous  office  of  a  missionary  among  the  Indians. 
The  nature  of  a  missionary's  life  at  that  time, 
and  the  prospects  of  the  young  candidate  for  such 
a  station,  may  be  fully  realized  by  a  perusal  of  the 


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10 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


»  ' 


letters  from  the  Reverend  Samuel  Kirkland  to  Dr 
Wheelock,  written  previously  to  the  removal  from 
Lebanon.  Mr  Kirkland  was  a  graduate  of  Nassau 
Hall,  in  New  Jersey,  and  when  qualified  for  the  minis- 
try, lie  undertook  a  mission  to  the  Seneca  Indians,  the 
most  remote  and  fierce  of  the  confederate  nations. 
He  continued  there  more  than  a  year  and  a  half,  and 
gained  the  confidence  of  some  of  the  chief  persons  of 
the  tribe ;  but  so  general  was  the  aversion  to  the 
whites,  and  to  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  that  after  a 
thorough  experiment,  he  despaired  of  any  such  success 
as  would  be  adequate  to  the  sacrifices  he  must  make, 
and  the  sufferings  he  must  endure.  Leaving  the 
Senecas,  therefore,  he  next  proceeded  to  the  Oneidas, 
with  whom  he  took  up  a  permanent  residence.  Here 
poverty,  and  famine,  and  wretchedness  stared  him  in 
the  face.*     Nor  were   these    the   worst  evils,  with 


*  During  the  first  year  of  his  sojourning  with  his  tribe  (1767),  he 
wrote  to  Dr  Wheelock  as  follows. 

"  I  am  distressed  to  know  what  to  do ;  the  present  poverty  of  these 
people  cries  aloud  for  the  charity  of  God's  people ;  two  years  ago  their 
corn  was  cut  off  by  the  frost,  last  year  destroyed  by  the  vermin,  and 
worms  threaten  the  destruction  of  one  half  of  the  present  crop.  Many 
of  them  for  a  month  past  have  eat  but  once  a  day,  and  yet  continue  to 
work.  From  week  to  week  I  am  obliged  to  go  eeling  with  the  Indians 
at  Oneida  Lake  for  my  subsistence.  I  have  feasted  and  starved  with 
them,  as  their  luck  depends  on  wind  and  weather.  If  it  shoidd  be 
asked,  why  they  do  not  support  me,  the  ap'wer  is  ready,  They  can- 
not support  themselves.  They  are  now  half  starved.  Some  of  them 
have  no  more  than  two  quarts  of  corn.  I  fear  my  appearing  in  such  a 
servile,  beggarly  manner  will  very  much  disserve  the  design  in  view ; 
but  I  must  desist,  must  go  down  to  the  lake  for  eels  this  day,  and 
return  tomorrow  to  hill  my  corn  and  potatoes." 

Again  a  few  weeks  afterwards  he  wrote,  "  Through  the  tender  mer- 
cies of  God,  I  enjoy  some  degree  of  health,  amidst  all  my  troubles  and 
distresses,  though  my  strengtli  begins  to  fail.    I  cannot  subsist  long 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


11 


which  he  was  obliged  to  contend.  The  capricious 
tempci  and  furious  passions  of  the  savages,  especially 
when  intoxicated,  fre([ucntly  put  his  life  in  jeopardy, 
and  kept  him  in  a  state  of  unceasing  alarm.  All  these 
things  were  endured  by  Mr  Kirkland  with  a  christian 
fortitude,  which  nothing  but  a  deep  sense  of  the  sacred 
nature  of  his  duties  could  have  enabled  him  to  maintain. 
He  triumphed  at  last ;  he  lived  many  years  with  the 
Oneidas,  and  had  the  satisfaction  to  see,  that  his  toils 
were  not  fruitless.  The  Indians  revered  him  as  a 
father ;  they  had  the  wisdom  to  respect  and  some- 
times to  follow  his  counsels ;  a  visible  change  took 
place  in  their  character  and  modes  of  life  ;  the  rough 
features  of  the  savage  were  softened,  famine  and  want 
chased  away,  and  the  comforts  of  life  multiplied. 
These  advantages  the  sons  of  the  forest  saw  and  felt. 
No  man  has  ever  been  more  successful  than  Mr 
Kirkland  in  improving  the  condition  of  the  Indians, 
and  to  the  last  day  of  his  life,  he  continued  to  receive 
from  them  earnest  demonstrations  of  affection  and 
gratitude.* 

without  relief.  I  have  ate  no  flesh  in  my  own  house  for  near  eight 
weeks.  Flour  and  milk  with  a  few  eels  have  been  my  living.  Such 
diet,  with  my  hard  labor  abroad,  doth  not  satisfy  nature.  My  poor 
people  are  almost  starved  to  death.  I  am  grieved  to  the  heart  for 
them.  There  is  one  family,  consisting  of  four,  I  must  support  after  my 
fashion,  till  squashes  come  on,  or  they  must  perish.  They  have  had 
nothing  these  ten  days,  but  what  I  have  given  them.  They  have  only 
each  an  old  blanket  not  worth  sixpence,  wherewith  to  buy  anything ; 
and  begging  here  at  this  season  would  be  a  very  poor  business.  I 
would  myself  be  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  fall  on  my  knees  for  such  a 
bone  as  I  have  often  seen  cast  to  the  dogs." 

*  In  speaking  of  this  subject,  the  name  of  John  Thornton  should  not 
be  forgotten.  He  was  a  wealthy  English  gentleman,  who  was  active 
in  procuring  donations  to  the  Indian  fund,  and  himself  a  large  contribu- 


12 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


11     H 


M 


To  this  brief  sketcli  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add, 
that  when  the  revolutionary  war  came  on,  a  check 
was  given  to  the  designs  o(  the  benevolent  in  behalf 
of  the  Indians.     They  engaged   in  the  strife,  which 
Iiad  been  kindled  by  their  >>  hite  neighbors,  and  the 
voice   of  the   missionary    was   silenced   by  the   war 
whoop,  and  the  din  of  battle.     Many  of  Dr  VVhee- 
lock's  Indian  pupils,  having   gone  through  a  regular 
course  of  instruction,  had  returned  to   their   homes, 
and  were  beginning  to  scatter  the  light  they  had  re- 
ceived ;  but  their  influence  was  lost  amidst  the  rav- 
ages of  war.     Much  was  it  to  be  lamented,  that  the 
agency  of  a  school,  to  which  Dr  VVheelock  had  de- 
voted the  years  of  a  long  and  toilsome  life,  and  which 
had   awakened   a   lively   interest    in   the   friends   of 
humanity,  should  be  so  soon  brought  to  an  end,  and 
nothing  be  seen  in  the  result  but  a  melancholy  waste 
of  time,  talents,  and  money. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  a  missionary  among  the 
Indians,  and  such  the  origin  and  i)urpose  of  the  Insti- 
tution, to  which  Ledyard  resorted  for  an  education, 
which  should  qualify  him  to  enter  upon  his  destined 
task.  Not  many  memorials  remain  of  his  college  life. 
The  whole  time  of  his  residence  at  Dartmouth  was  not 
more  than  one  year,  and  during  that  period  he  was 
absent  three  months  and  a  half,  rambling  among  the 
Indians.     A  classmate  still  living  recollects,  that  he 

tor;  lie  jjnvo  Sampson  (Vcum  n  pension  of  ono  hnndrcd  dollnrs  a 
year,  sent  privnto  aid  to  Dr  Whcclook  and  IMr  Kirkland,  wrote  them 
frotiuont  lottors  of  iMU'ournijcnirnt,  and  was  never  weary,  either  by 
personal  exertions  or  cliaritublo  gitld,  of  promoting  tlto  cauac  of  Indian 
Missions. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


13 


had  then  some  amusing  singularities,  was  cheerful  and 
gay  in  conversation,  winning  in  his  address,  and  a 
favorite  with  his  fellow  students.  His  journey  from 
Hartford  to  Hanover  was  performed  in  a  sulkey,  the 
first  vehicle  of  the  kind,  that  had  ever  been  seen  on 
Dartmouth  plain,  and  it  attracted  curiosity  not  more 
from  this  circumstance,  than  from  the  odd  appearance 
of  the  ecpiipugc.  Both  the  horse  and  the  sulkey  gave 
evident  tokens  of  having  known  better  days ;  and 
the  dress  of  their  owner  was  peculiar,  bidding  equal 
deiiance  to  symmetry  of  proportions  and  the  fashion 
of  the  times.  In  addition  to  the  traveller's  own 
weight,  this  ancient  vehicle  was  burdened  with  a 
quantity  of  calico  for  curtains,  and  other  articles  to 
assist  in  theatrical  exhibitions,  of  which  he  was  very 
fond.  From  the  character  of  this  outfit  we  may  con- 
clude, that  he  did  not  intend  time  should  pass  on  heavy 
wings  at  Dartmouth.  Considering  the  newness  of  the 
country,  the  want  of  bridges,  and  the  bad  state  of  the 
roads,  this  jaunt  in  a  crazy  sulkey  was  thought  to  in- 
dicate no  feeble  spirit  of  enterprise.  The  journey 
might  have  been  performed  with  much  more  case  and 
expedition  on  horseback,  but  in  that  case  his  theatrical 
apparatus  must  have  been  left  behind. 

As  a  scholar  at  college  he  was  respectable,  but  not 
over-diligent ;  he  acquired  knowledge  with  facility, 
and  could  make  quick  progress,  when  he  chose,  but 
he  was  impatient  under  discipline,  and  thought  nothing 
more  irksome,  than  to  go  by  compulsion  to  a  certain 
place  at  certain  times,  and  tread  from  day  to  day  the 
same  dull  circle  of  the  chapel,  the  recitation  room,  tho 
commons  hall,  and  tlic  study.     It  is  not  aflirmcd,  that 


14 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


n 


■  I 


he  ever  ventured  to  set  up  any  direct  hostility  to  the 
powers  that  ruled,  but  he  sometimes  demeaned  him- 
self in  a  manner,  that  must  take  from  him  (he  praise 
of  a  shining  example  of  willing  subordination.  In 
those  primitive  times  the  tones  of  a  bell  had  not  been 
heard  in  the  forests  of  Dartmouth,  and  the  students 
were  called  together  by  the  sound  of  a  conch-shell, 
which  was  blown  in  turn  by  the  freshmen.  Ledyard 
"Was  indignant  at  being  summoned  to  this  duty,  and 
it  was  his  custom  to  perform  it  with  a  reluctance 
and  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  his  sense  of  the 
degradation. 

The  scenic  materials,  brought  with  so  much  pains 
from  Hartford,  were  not  suffered  to  lie  useless.  The 
calico  was  manufactured  into  curtains,  a  stage  was 
fitted  up,  and  plays  were  acted,  in  which  our  hero 
personated  the  chief  characters.  Cato  was  among 
the  tragedies  brought  out  upon  his  boards,  and  in  this 
he  acted  the  part  of  old  Syphax,  wearing  a  long  grey 
beard,  and  a  dress  suited  to  his  notion  of  the  costume 
of  a  Numidian  prince.  His  tragedies  were  doubtless 
comedies  to  the  audience,  but  they  all  answered  his 
purpose  of  amusement,  and  of  introducing  a  little 
variety  into  the  sober  tenor  of  a  student's  life.  At 
this  period  he  was  much  addicted  to  reading  plays,  and 
his  passion  for  the  drama  probably  stole  away  many 
hours,  that  might  have  been  more  profitably  employed 
in  preparing  to  exhibit  himself  before  his  tutors. 

He  had  not  been  quite  four  months  in  college,  when 
he  suddenly  disappeared  without  previous  notice  to 
his  comrades,  and  apparently  without  permission  from 
the  president.     The  full  extent  of  his  travels  during 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


15 


his  absence  cannot  now  be  known,  but  he  is  under- 
stood to  have  wandered  to  the  borders  of  Canada, 
and  among  the  Six  Nations.  It  is  certain,  that  he 
acquired  in  this  excursion  a  knowledge  of  Indian 
manners  and  Indian  language,  which  was  afterwards 
of  essential  service  to  him  in  his  intercourse  with 
savages  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  His  main 
object  probably  was  to  take  a  cursory  survey  of  the 
missionary  ground,  which  he  was  contemplating  as  the 
theatre  of  his  future  career,  and,  judging  from  what 
followed,  we  may  suppose  that  this  foretaste  put  an 
end  to  all  his  anticipations.  Nothing  more  is  heard  of 
his  missionary  projects,  although  it  is  not  clear  at  what 
time  he  absolutely  abandoned  them.  When  three 
months  and  a  half  had  expired,  he  returned  to  college 
and  resumed  his  studies. 

If  his  dramatic  performances  were  not  revived,  as  it 
would  seem  they  were  not,  his  erratic  spirit  did  not 
sink  into  a  lethargy  for  want  of  expedients  to  keep  it 
alive.  In  midwinter,  when  the  ground  was  covered 
with  deep  snow,  Ledyard  collected  a  party  whom 
he  persuaded  to  accompany  him  to  the  summit  of  a 
neighbouring  mountain,  and  there  pass  the  night.  Dr 
Wheelock  consented  to  the  project,  as  his  heart  was 
bent  on  training  up  the  young  men  to  be  missionaries 
among  the  Indians,  and  he  was  willing  they  should 
become  inured  to  hardships,  to  which  a  life  among 
savages  would  frequently  expose  them.  The  projec- 
tor of  the  ex^jv^dition  took  the  lead  of  his  volunteers, 
and  conducted  them  by  a  pathless  route  through  the 
thickets  of  a  swamp  and  forests,  till  they  reached  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  just  in  time  to  kindle  a  fire,  and 


16 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


I 


. 


V 


V     I] 


It-     ■• 


arrange  their  encampment  on  the  snow  before  it  was 
dark.  The  night,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  dreary 
and  sleepless  to  most  of  the  party,  and  few  Avere  they 
who  did  not  greet  the  dawn  with  gladness.  Their 
leader  was  alert,  prompt  at  his  duty,  and  pleased  with 
his  success.  The  next  day,  they  returned  home,  all 
perfectly  satisfied,  unless  it  were  Ledyard,  with  this 
single  experiment  of  their  hardihood,  without  being 
disposed  to  make  another  similar  trial.  He  had  a 
propensity  for  climbing  mountains,  as  will  be  seen 
hereafter,  when  we  meet  him  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands. 

After  abandoning  his  missionary  schemes  he  began 
to  grow  weary  of  college,  and  the  more  -so,  probably, 
as  his  unsettled  habits  now  and  then  drew  from  the 
president  a  salutary  admonition  on  the  importance  of 
a  right  use  of  time,  and  a  regard  for  the  regr^ations  of 
the  establishment.  Such  hints  he  conceived  to  be  an 
indignity,  and  fancied  himself  ill  treated.  That  there 
was  value  in  rules  of  order  and  discipline  he  did  not 
pretend  to  deny,  but  seemed  at  a  loss  to  imagine 
why  they  should  apply  to  him.  That  the  whole  sub- 
ject might  be  put  at  rest,  without  involving  any  puz- 
zling questions  of  casuistry,  he  resolved  to  escape. 

On  the  margin  of  the  Connecticut  river,  which  runs 
near  the  college,  stood  many  majestic  forest  trees, 
nourished  by  a  rich  soil.  One  of  these  Ledyard  con- 
trived to  cut  down.  He  then  set  himself  at  work  to 
fashion  its  trunk  into  a  canoe,  and  in  this  labor  he  was 
assisted  by  some  of  his  fellow  students.  As  the 
canoe  was  fifty  feet  long  and  three  wide,  and  was  to  be 
dug  out  and  constructed  by  these  unskilful  workmen, 


n 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


17 


the  task  was  not  a  trifling  one,  nor  such  as  could  be 
speedily  executed.  Operations  were  carried  on  with 
spirit,  however,  till  Ledyard  wounded  himself  with 
an  axe,  and  was  disabled  for  several  days.  When 
recovered  he  applied  himself  anew  to  his  work ;  the 
canoe  was  finished,  launched  into  the  stream,  and,  by 
the  further  aid  of  his  companions,  equipped  and  pre- 
pared for  a  voyage.  His  wishes  were  now  at  their 
consummation,  and,  bidding  adieu  to  these  haunts  of 
the  muses,  where  he  had  gained  a  dubious  fame,  he 
set  off*  alone  with  a  light  he'.rt  to  explore  a  river, 
with  the  navigation  of  which  he  had  not  the  slightest 
acquaintance.  The  distance  to  Hartford  was  not  less 
than  one  hundred  and  forty  miles,  much  of  the  way 
was  through  a  wilderness,  and  in  several  places  there 
were  dangerous  falls  and  rapids. 

With  a  bearskin  for  a  covering,  and  his  canoe  well 
stocked  with  provisions,  he  yielded  himself  to  the 
current,  and  floated  leisurely  down  the  stream,  seldom 
using  his  paddle,  and  stopping  only  in  the  night  for 
sleep.  He  told  Mr  Jefferson  in  Paris,  fourteen  years 
afterwards,  that  he  took  only  two  books  with  him,  a 
Greek  Testament,  and  Ovid,  one  of  which  he  was 
deeply  engaged  in  reading  when  his  canoe  approached 
Bellows's  Falls,  where  he  was  suddenly  roused  by  the 
noise  of  the  waters  rushing  among  the  rocks  through 
the  narrow  passage.  The  danger  was  imminent,  as 
no  boat  could  go  down  that  fall  without  being  in- 
stantly dashed  in  pieces.  With  difficulty  he  gained  the 
shore  in  time  to  escape  such  a  catastrophe,  and  through 
the  kind  assistance  of  the  people  in  the  neighbourhood, 
who  were  astonished  at  the  novelty  of  such  a  voyagq 


'VX 


^m 


«lI 


1 


18 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


down  the  Connecticut,  his  canoe  was  drawn  by  oxen 
around  the  fall,  and  committed  again  to  the  water  be- 
low. From  that  time,  till  he  arrived  at  his  place  of 
destination,  we  hear  of  no  accident,  although  he  was 
carried  through  several  dangerous  passes  in  the  river. 
On  a  bright  spring  morning,  just  as  the  sun  was  rising, 
some  of  Mr  Seymour's  family  were  standing  near  his 
house  on  the  high  bank  of  the  small  river,  that  runs 
through  the  city  of  Hartford,  and  empties  itself  into  the 
Connecticut  river,  when  they  espied  at  some  distance 
an  object  of  unusual  appearance  moving  slowly  up  the 
stream.  Others  were  attracted  by  the  singularity  of 
the  sight,  and  all  were  conjecturing  what  it  could  be, 
till  its  questionable  shape  assumed  the  true  and  ob- 
vious form  of  a  canoe ;  but  by  what  impulse  it  was 
moved  forward  none  could  determine.  Something 
was  seen  in  the  stern,  but  apparently  without  life  or 
motion.  At  length  the  canoe  touched  the  shore 
directly  in  front  of  the  house ;  a  person  sprang  from 
the  stern  to  a  rock  in  the  edge  of  the  water,  threw  off 
a  bearskin  in  which  he  had  been  enveloped,  and  be- 
hold John  Ledyard,  in  the  presence  of  his  uncle  and 
connexions,  who  were  filled  with  wonder  at  this  sud- 
den apparition,  for  they  had  received  no  intelligence 
of  his  intention  to  leave  Dartmouth,  but  supposed  him 
still  there  diligently  pursuing  his  studies,  and  fitting 
himself  to  be  a  missionary  among  the  Indians. 

However  unimportant  this  whi.^sical  adventure  may 
have  been  in  its  results,  or  even  its  objects,  it  was  one 
of  no  ordinary  peril,  and  illustrated  in  a  forcible  man- 
ner the  '^  iiaracter  of  the  navigator.  The  voyage  was 
performed  in  the  last  part  of  April  or  first  of  May, 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


19 


and  of  course  the  river  was  raised  by  the  recent 
melting  of  the  snow  on  the  mountains.  This 
circumstance  probably  rendered  the  rapids  less  dan- 
gerous, but  it  may  be  questioned  whether  there  are 
many  persons  at  the  present  day,  who  would  willingly 
run  the  same  hazard,  even  if  guided  by  a  pilot  skilled 
in  the  navigation  of  the  river. 

We  cannot  look  back  to  Ledyard,  thus  launching 
himself  alone  in  so  frail  a  bark  upon  the  waters  of  a 
river  wholly  unknown  to  him,  without  being  reminded 
of  the  only  similar  occurrence,  which  has  been  record- 
ed, the  voyage  down  the  river  Niger  by  Mungo  Park, 
a  name  standing  at  the  very  head  of  those  most  re- 
nowned for  romantic  and  lofty  enterprise.  The 
melancholy  fate,  it  is  true,  by  which  he  was  soon 
arrested  in  his  noble  career,  adds  greatly  to  the  inter- 
est of  his  situation  when  pushing  from  the  shore  his 
little  boat  Joliba,  and  causes  us  to  read  his  last  affect- 
ing letter  to  his  wife  with  emotions  of  sympathy  more 
intense  if  possible,  than  would  be  felt  if  the  tragical 
issue  were  not  already  known.  In  many  points  of 
character  there  was  a  strong  resemblance  between 
these  two  distinguished  travellers,  and  they  both  per- 
ished martyrs  in  the  same  cause,  attempting  to  explore 
the  hidden  regions  of  Africa. 


, 


20 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


CHAPTER  II. 


i 


:'i 


I  t 


'  i 
!  I 

I. 


I 


His  singular  letters  to  President  Wheelock. — Commences  the  study  of  theology. 
— His  embarrassments  on  this  occasion. — Visits  several  clergymen  on  Long 
Island,  and  pursues  his  studies  there  for  a  short  time. — Proposes  teaching 
a  school. — Returns  to  Connecticut,  and  meets  with  disappointment  in  his 
hopes  of  being  settled  as  a  clergyman. — Abandons  his  purpose  of  studying 
divinity. — Sails  from  New  London  on  a  voyage  to  Gibraltar. — Enlists  there 
as  a  soldier  into  the  regular  service. — Released  by  the  solicitation  of  the  cap- 
tain of  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed. — Returns  home  by  way  of  the  Barbary 
Coast  and  the  West  Indies. — Resolves  to  visit  England,  and  seek  for  his 
wealthy  family  connexions  in  that  country. — Sails  from  New  York  to  Ply- 
mouth.— Travels  thence  to  London  in  extreme  poverty. — Realizes  none  of  his 
expectations. — Enlists  in  the  naval  service. — Gains  an  acquaintance  with 
Captain  Cook,  and  embarks  with  him  on  his  last  voyage  round  the  world,  in 
the  capacity  of  corporal  of  marines. 

As  Ledyard  left  Hanover  when  Dr  Wheelock  was 
absent,  this  was  probably  seized  upon  by  him  as  a  fit 
opportunity  for  taking  his  departure.  A  few  days 
after  his  arrival  in  Hartford,  his  uncle  thought  proper 
to  show  him  some  of  Dr  Wheelock's  letters,  in  which 
were  very  just  complaints  of  his  conduct,  his  disregard 
of  discipline,  and  particularly  his  thoughtless  waste  of 
the  small  means  he  possessed,  which  his  friends  flat- 
tered themselves  might,  with  good  economy,  be  made 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  his  edu'^.ation.  These  letters  of 
the  president  were  apparently  written  not  so  much  by 
way  of  accusation,  as  to  vindicate  himself  from  any 
charge  of  neglect  that  might  be  made  against  him, 
on  account  of  the  ill  success  of  his  efforts  to  manage  a 
young  man,  whom  he  had  no  other  motive  for  taking 
under  his  particular  care,  than  good  will  for  the 
grandson    of   his   deceased    friend,  and  regard  for 


) 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


21 


his  family.  Ledyard  was  Aiiuch  incensed  at  these 
letters,  and  replied  to  them  mider  the  impulse  of 
feelings  not  the  most  kindly  or  respectful.  From  his 
nature  he  was  extremely  impatient  of  reproach,  and 
ever  deemed  it  an  unpardonable  offence  in  any  one  to 
question  his  motives,  or  insinuate  that  he  could  act 
deliberately  and  intentionally  wrong.  His  foibles  he 
could  bear  to  have  touched  with  a  gentle  hand,  but  no 
one  ventured  a  suspicion  of  his  integrity,  or  of  the  kind- 
ness of  his  heart,  with  impunity.  He  often  lamented 
the  failure  of  purposes  caused  by  his  fondness  for 
change  and  love  of  adventure ;  but  at  no  time  did  he 
allow  himself  to  think,  that  he  was  not  pursuing  great 
and  worthy  objects,  and  such  as  would  redound  to  his 
honor,  and  the  good  of  mankind.  With  this  disposi- 
tion, and  this  confidence  in  himself,  it  was  natural 
that  he  should  sometimes  regard  the  opinions,  which 
others  entertained  of  his  conduct,  with  stronger  feel- 
ings of  disapprobation,  than  the  merits  of  the  case 
required.  In  reading  the  following  extracts  from  a 
a  letter  to  Dr  Wheelock,  these  particulars  should  be 
kept  in  mind ;  and  it  should  moreover  be  remembered, 
that,  whether  right  or  wrong,  he  really  fancied  himself 
not  well  treated  at  Dartmouth. 

"  When  I  sit  down  to  write,"  says  he,  "  I  know  not 
where  to  begin,  or  where  to  end,  or  what  to  say, 
especially  since  I  have  the  contents  of  two  of  your 
letters  concerning  my  affairs.  What  do  I  see  ?  Who 
is  this  that  assumes  the  port  of  compassion,  kindness, 
benevolence,  charity,  and  writes  as  he  writes  ?  You 
begin,  sir,  with  a  surprise,  that  my  legacy  was  so 
much  exhausted.     Justly  might  you,  sir,  but  not  more 


ml 


22 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


H:| 


i 


il 


SO  than  my  unfortunate  self;  and  if  truth  has  not 
turned  liar,  if  any  protestations,  any  declarations  of 
honesty,  uprightness,  or  anything  else  can  avail,  I 
now,  under  the  most  sacred  obligations,  bond  fide 
declare  I  was  not  aware  of  it ;  and  when  I  saw  the 
letters  and  account,  [  was  so  much  ashamed  of  my 
inadvertency,  and  so  justly  culpable  before  you,  that 
I  could  not  compose  myself  to  come  before  you,  and 
answer  for  my  misconduct.  But  from  that  moment, 
with  much  anxiety  and  care,  I  studied  to  remedy  the 
matter.  This  I  declare  was  the  honest  purpose  of 
my  heart ;  and  to  make  you  repariuiou  still  is ;  and, 
under  Heaven,  you  shall  say  you  are  satisfied.  Then, 
sir,  you  say,  a  little  after,  that  you  could  have  no  confi- 
dence in  me,  after  the  character  given  of  me  by  Mr 
Seymour.     I  am  sorry,  sir,  you  could  not. 

"  I  take  what  you  have  said,  in  regard  to  my  pride, 
very  ill-natured,  very  unkind  in  you.  So  far  as  I 
know  myself,  I  came  to  your  college  under  influences 
of  the  good  kind,  whether  you,  sir,  believe  it  or  not. 
The  acquaintance  I  have  gained  there  is  dearer  than 
I  can  possibly  express.  Farewell,  dear  Dartmouth. 
Doctor,  my  heart  is  as  pure  as  the  new  fallen  snow. 
Farewell,  and  may  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  bless  you  and  yours.  I  am,  honored  and  rev- 
erend sir,  though  sorely  beset,  your  obliged  and  duti- 
ful young  servant." 

Here  end  all  the  particulars,  which  have  come  to 
my  knowledge,  respecting  Ledyard's  college  life. 
He  next  appears  before  us  in  the  character  of  a  stu- 
dent in  divinity.  Within  a  month  after  mooring  his 
canoe  at  the  river^s  bank  in  Hartford,  he  is  found  at 


'  tHw 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD.  WB 

Preston,  in  Connecticut,  advising  with  the  rcjverend 
Mr  Hart,  a  clergyman  of  that  town,  op  the  subject  of 
his  theological  studies  and  prospects,  and  also  with  the 
reverend  Dr  Bellamy,  at  that  time  a  preacher  of  wide 
fame  in  Connecticut.  Both  of  these  clergymen  gave 
him  such  encouragement,  that  he  resolved  to  apply 
himself  immediately  to  a  preparation  for  discharging 
the  sacred  functions  of  a  divine,  and  turn  the  ruffled 
tenor  of  his  life  into  the  quiet  and  grateful  occupation 
of  a  parish  minister.  He  speaks  of  his  anticipations 
on  this  occasion  with  a  heartiness  and  enthusiasm, 
which  show,  at  least,  that  he  imagined  himself  sin- 
cere, and  that  in  the  future  he  fancied  he  had  only 
to  look  for  the  unalloyed  blessings  of  tranquillity, 
competence,  and  peace.  Such  was  his  haste  to 
realize  these  precious  hopes,  that  he  had  not  pa- 
tience to  wait  the  usual  term  required  of  young 
candidates,  who  had  not  been  graduated  at  a  col- 
lege. To  facilitate  the  attainment  of  this  end,  his 
advisers  recommended  that  he  should  go  to  Long 
Island,  and  there  pass  through  his  initiatory  studies, 
where,  it  was  said,  smaller  attainments  were  required 
for  admission  to  the  desk  ;  and  when  once  admitted, 
he  might  return  and  procure  a  settlement  wherever 
there  should  be  an  opening.  With  this  scheme  he 
was  well  satisfied,  and  being  furnished  by  the  above 
gentlemen  with  suitable  letters  of  recommendation, 
he  mounted  his  horse  and  set  off  for  Long  Island,  with 
the  same  buoyancy  of  spirits,  as  when,  iwo  months 
before,  he  entered  his  canoe  at  Dartmouth,  and  with  a 
purpose  much  more  definite,  and  higher  expectations. 


M 


24 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


I- 


111 

4 


V 

I?  I 


h  • 


Pi 

Ml 


i 


In  describing  this  tour  I  shall  let  him  speak  in  his 
own  language,  as  contained  in  a  letter  written  to  a 
friend  at  the  time. 

"  Equipped  with  my  credentials,  I  embarked  for 
Long  Island.  The  next  day  I  fortunately  arrived  at 
Southold,  surprised  my  mother  with  a  visit,  and  after 
remaining  with  her  twenty-four  hours,  I  rode  to  the 
eastward.  With  another  recommendatory  letter  from 
the  reverend  Mr  Storrs,  I  crossed  Shelter  Island  ferry, 
and  thence  to  East  Hampton,  where  I  met  with  a 
kind  reception  from  the  reverend  Mr  Buell,  modera- 
tor of  the  Synod,  an  influential  man,  and  a  glorious 
preacher.  Here  I  was  introduced  to  a  very  large 
library,  and,  in  company  with  another  young  candi- 
date, I  spent  about  a  month  with  intense  application 
to  study.  But  this  was  only  an  interregnum.  Mr 
Buell  let  me  know,  that  the  presbytery  here  proceed 
in  these  matters  with  a  perfect  extreme  of  delibera- 
tion ;  and  since  my  circumstances  were  as  they  were, 
he  advised  me  to  comply  with  the  dispensations  of 
Providence,  and  seek  a  school,  and  study  under  some 
divine.  I  knew  his  advice  to  be  as  that  from  a  father 
to  a  son,  and,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  wiping 
the  sweat  of  care  from  my  brow,  I  bestrided  my 
Rosinante  with  a  mountain  of  grief  upon  my  shoul- 
ders, but  a  good  letter  in  my  pocket.  I  jogged  on 
groaning,  but  never  desponding,  passed  to  Bridgetown, 
thence  to  Southampton,  and  through  many  little  villa- 
ges to  Sataucket  Quorum,  then  to  Smithtown,  Fire- 
place, Oyster  Bay,  and  so  on,  visiting  and  making 
acquaintance  with  the  clergy  wherever  I  went. 


LIFE  OF   JOHN    LEDYARD. 


26 


"  At  length,  after  a  ride  of  almost  one  hundred 
miles,  by  crossing  the  island  I  arrived  at  Huntington, 
a  large  town  about  forty  miles  from  New  York,  where 
I  visited  the  minister  of  the  place,  old  Mr  Prime. 
After  about  twelve  days'  feasting  upon  his  great  libra- 
ry, and  a  quickly  made  friendship  with  the  ingenious 
Dr  Prime  formerly  of  New  York,  and  a  fruitless 
attempt  to  get  a  school,  I  was  returning,  but  stopped 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  excellent  Irishman,  the 
reverend  Mr  Caldwell  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  the 
popular  Dr  Rogers  of  New  York ;  and,  after  some 
cordials  of  consolation  and  encouragement,  they  bade 
me  go  on,  and  God  speed  me.  They  told  me  that  the 
sufferings  I  met  with,  and  the  contemptuous  ideas  the 
people  where  I  was  born  and  educated  had  of  me, 
were  nothing  strange,  but  reflected  honor  on  me, — 
that  a  prophet  is  hardly  accepted  in  his  own  country, 
and  the  like. 

"  I  returned  after  a  very  fatiguing  journey  to  Mr 
Buell's,  and  staid  a  short  time  with  that  hermit,  where 
and  with  whom  I  longed  to  be  buried  in  ease  ;  but  I 
scorned  to  be  a  coward,  and  chose  to  die  in  front  of 
battle  if  anywhere.  We  advised  together  anew,  and 
it  was  resolved,  that  since  I  was  so  disappointed  I 
should  proceed  with  renewed  vigor.  Accordingly, 
with  warm  letters  I  came  again  to  the  continent, 
where  I  arrived  in  the  evening,  but  thought  it  most 
prudent  not  to  stop  there,  no,  not  where  I  was  born. 
I  dropped  a  tear  upon  the  occasion,  and  rode  on  toward 
Preston  till  eleven  at  night,  when,  feeling  quite  ex- 
hausted, for  I  had  been  severely  sea-sick,  I  dismount- 
ed, left  my  horse  to  graze,  looked  up  to  heaven,  and 
4 


>■♦ 


i:M 


f1 


y, : 


H 


'   ll.  i 


)i 


26 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


under  its  canopy  fell  asleep.  The  next  morning  I 
rode  to  my  cousin  Isaac's  house,  and  being  refreshed,  I 
advanced  once  more  to  Mr  Hart's,  where  I  was  again 
handsomely  and  kindly  received." 

Thus  disappointed  in  his  expectations  on  Long 
Island,  his  ardor  were  somewhat  damped,  but  his  re- 
solution remained  unshaken.  He  made  up  his  mind 
to  apply  again  to  his  old  friends,  and  seek  their  sym- 
pathy and  counsel.  As  they  had  expressed  themselves 
warmly  in  his  favor,  and  recommended  him  in  flatter- 
ing terms  to  the  Long  Island  clergy,  he  was  sanguine 
in  the  faith,  that  they  would  not,  when  things  came  to 
an  extremity,  hesitate  to  do,  on  their  own  part,  what 
they  had  encouraged  so  earnestly  in  their  brethren. 
With  some  confidence,  therefore,  he  repeated  his  soli- 
citations to  Mr  Hart.  The  result  shall  likewise  be 
given  in  his  own  words. 

"  We  have  advised  together,  and  read  the  aforesaid 
letters.  The  amount  of  all  is  this,  *  Don't  be  dis- 
couraged, Mr  Ledyard ;  you  will  think  the  better  of 
fair  weather  after  this  storm.  My  private  sentiments, 
and  my  public  conduct  in  your  case,  are  two  things. 
I  don't  doubt  one  single  instant  of  your  probity  and 
well-meaning.  What  the  world  does,  I  cannot  say ; 
but  as  I  officiate  in  a  public  character,  I  must  deal  with 
you  as  so  officiating,  and  for  that  reason,  as  well  as 
securing  you*  future  tranquillity  in  the  ministry,  by 
making  a  good  beginning,  I  by  all  means  advise,  first, 
that  you  write  speedily  to  the  reverend  Mr  Whitman, 
and  get  him  to  write  to  us  respecting  you  what  he 
can,  as  you  have  lived  long  under  him ;  secondly,  that 
you  write  also  to  Dartmouth,  to  procure  a  regular  dis- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


27 


mission  from  the  president.  Wiien  we  have  these,  we 
shall  proceed  with  confidence  in  the  face  of  all  men, 
and  not  be  ashamed  to  introduce  you  anywhere.' 
Now,  Sir,  though  but  very  brief,  I  have  given  you  an 
exact  account  of  my  situation,  and  the  fatigues  of  my 
pursuits.  You  see  what  bars  my  sitting  directly  down. 
"  As  Dartmouth  is  at  such  a  distance,  the  clergy 
here  do  not  insist  on  a  return  from  that  place  so  soon 
as  from  Hartford,  but  the  sooner  I  have  an  answer 
from  Mr  Whitman,  the  sooner  will  my  mind  be  at  rest. 
There  are  four  ministers  that  stand  ready  to  advance 
me  the  moment  this  is  done,  among  whom  the  famous 
Dr  Bellamy  is  one.  The  clergy  are  very  exact  in 
these  thingSj  and  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  they 
meant  to  keep  me  humming  around  them  till  I  was 
tired,  and  so  get  clear  of  an  absolute  refusal,  or,  as 
Dr  Voung  expresses  it,  to 

Fright  mo,  with  terrors  of  a  world  unknown, 
From  joys  of  this,  to  keep  them  nil  tlieir  own. 

They  have  found  me  affliction-proof,  if  this  was  their 
motive ;  but  I  plainly  see  they  mean  it  for  my  honor 
— and  their  own  too.  The  request,  in  short,  which  I 
make  of  you  is,  that  you  will  please  to  wait  on  Mr 
Whitman  with  my  letter,  hurry  him  for  an  answer, 
and  send  it  to  me  by  the  earliest  opportunity." 

That  such  an  answer  never  came,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact,  that  he  was  never  licensed  as  a  preach- 
er; and  the  judgment  of  his  friends,  the  clergymen, 
is  not  to  be  so  much  censured  in  this,  perhaps,  as  in 
the  unjustifiable  encouragement  they  held  out  to  him. 
They  could  not  suppose  him  qualified  for  the  clerical 
office,  with  the  limited  knowledge  and  experience  ho 


'I  I 


iVf 


28 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


•  \i 


possessed,  and  it  was  wrong  to  delude  him  with  the 
notion,  that  they  would  under  any  circumstances  pub- 
licly approve  him  as  such,  merely  upon  receiving  two 
letters,  which  at  most  could  testily  only  to  his  general 
character.  His  attainments  were  afterwards  to  be 
made.  He  was  doubtless  importunate,  and  Mr 
Hart  and  Dr  Bellamy  were  goodnatured,  but  their 
kindness  would  have  been  better  applied,  especially 
on  a  mind  like  that  of  Ledyard's,  if  they  had  been 
more  frank  and  decided  in  the  outset.  His  sensibility 
was  keenly  touched  by  the  disappointment,  which,  as 
much  as  anything  perhaps,  drove  him,  somewhat 
disgusted,  from  prosecuting  his  theological  studies. 
That  he  engaged  in  them  with  considerable  ardor,  no 
one  can  doubt  after  reading  his  remarks  above;  that 
he  would  have  continued  long  of  the  same  mind  is  not 
very  likely  ;  but  it  was  a  mistaken  exercise  of  bene- 
volence to  foster  hopes,  which  there  was  no  chance  of 
seeing  ripened  into  realities,  and  thus  enticing  him  into 
a  profession,  for  which  he  was  hardly  in  any  one  re- 
spect fitted.  As  a  further  proof,  that  he  was  in  earnest 
at  the  beginning,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  he  not  only 
applied  himself  assiduously  to  study,  but  was  accus- 
tomed to  declaim  in  the  woods  and  retired  places, 
that  he  might  discipline  his  voice,  and  prepare  himself 
for  public  speaking. 

But  his  studies  in  theology  were  of  short  duration. 
He  was  mortified  at  the  ill  success  of  his  application  to 
the  clergy  for  being  approved  as  a  candidate,  and  other 
circumstances  concurred  to  annoy  and  wound  him.  The 
effect  of  these  on  his  feelings  will  appear  in  the  follow- 
ing postscript  to  a  letter,  written  three  mouths  after  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


29 


one  last  quoted.  "  I  send  you  this  from  Groton,  even 
the  little  Groton,  where  it  seems  I  must  at  last  hide 
my  head,  and  relinquish  all  the  glorious  purposes  I 
had  in  view.  'Tis  hard.  Do  you  not  wonder  that  I 
still  live,  when  there  is  such  inquiry  about  the  strange 
man  in  Hartford,  when  I  am  the  mark  of  impertinent 
curiosity,  when  everything  around  me  opposes  my 
designs  ?  Do  you  not  wonder,  that  I  have  my  senses 
in  so  great  a  degree  as  to  let  you  know,  that  I  am  as 
unmoved  as  my  observers  and  opposers  ? "  These 
hints  are  enough  to  show  that  obstacles  of  a  serious 
kind,  whether  imaginary  or  real,  met  him  in  various 
quarters,  and  that  a  weight  of  corroding  cares  hung 
upon'  his  soul. 

But  we  are  not  left  long  to  sympathize  with  him  in 
his  griefs.  All  thoughts  of  divinity  being  now  aban- 
doned, he  is  introduced  to  us  a  few  weeks  afterwards 
In  a  totally  new  character,  that  of  a  sailor  on  board  a 
vessel  bound  to  Gibraltar.  Captain  Deshon,  who  re- 
sided in  New  London,  and  sailed  from  that  port,  had 
been  his  father's  friend,  and  the  hero  of  our  narrative 
now  shipped  with  him  for  a  voyage  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean. He  entered  as  a  common  sailor,  but  was  treat- 
ed by  the  captain  rather  as  a  friend  and  associate,  than 
as  one  of  the  ordinary  crew,  and  his  good  humour, 
suavity  of  manners,  and  comparative  intelligence, 
made  his  company  highly  acceptable  to  all  on  board. 
The  voyage  was  first  to  Gibraltar,  next  to  a  port  on 
the  Barbary  coast  for  taking  in  a  cargo  of  mules,  and 
thence  homeward  by  way  of  the  West  Indies. 

One  incident  only  has  been  transmitted,  as  worthy 
of  notice  during  this  voyage.     While  the  ship  was 


j.  '■• 


ni  1  *'  .1  i  il 


I. 


I'  ir. 


30 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


.11 


.iP 


'     -^      :i 


J'    i| 
1    I' 

!    J;!    1|; 


■t 
t 

I 


If 


f;  If  '■ 


lying  at  Gibraltar,  Ledyard  was  all  at  once  missing, 
and  it  was  some  time  before  anything  could  be  heard 
of  him.  There  came  a  rumor  at  length,  that  he 
was  among  the  soldiery  in  the  barracks.  A  person 
was  sent  to  make  inquiry,  who  descried  him  in  the 
ranks,  dressed  in  the  British  uniform,  armed  and 
equipped  from  head  to  foot,  and  carrying  himself  with 
a  martial  air  and  attitude,  which  proved  that  to  what- 
ever vocation  he  might  be  called,  he  was  not  to  be  out- 
done by  his  comrades.  Captain  Deshon  went  to  his 
quarters,  and  remonstrated  with  him  for  this  strange 
freak,  and  urged  him  to  return.  He  said  he  enlisted 
because  he  was  partial  to  the  service,  and  thought  the 
profession  of  a  soldier  well  suited  to  a  man  of  honor 
and  enterprise ;  but  that  he  would  not  be  obstinate, 
and  was  willing  to  go  back,  if  the  captain  insisted  on 
it,  and  would  procure  his  release.  When  the  circum- 
stances were  made  known  to  the  British  commanding 
officer,  he  consented  to  release  his  new  recruit,  who 
returned  on  board  the  ship  and  prosecuted  his  voyage. 

While  at  Gibraltar  he  wrote  home  a  very  full  and 
amusing  account  of  what  he  saw  in  that  place,  but 
the  letter  has  been  lost. 

Within  a  year  from  the  time  of  sailing  from  New 
London,  the  vessel  anchored  again  in  the  same  har- 
bor, and  the  only  profit  yielded  by  the  voyage  to  our 
young  adventurer  was  a  little  experience  of  the  hard- 
ships of  a  sailor's  life,  and  knowledge  of  the  myste- 
ries of  his  profession.  However  valuable  might  be 
this  species  of  gain  as  stock  on  hand  for  future  use, 
it  had  no  power  to  satisfy  immediate  want ;  poverty 
stared  him  in  the  face ;  and  at  the  ago  of  twenty-two 


'■•v  v., 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


31 


he  found  himself  a  solitary  wanderer,  dependent  on 
the  bounty  of  his  friends,  without  employment  or 
prospects,  having  tried  various  pursuits  and  failed  of 
success  in  all.  Neither  his  pride,  nor  his  sense  of 
duty,  would  suffer  him  to  remain  in  this  condition  one 
moment  longer,  than  till  he  could  devise  a  method  of 
escape  from  it ;  yet  the  peculiar  frame  of  his  mind 
and  temper  was  such,  that  nothing  would  have  been 
more  idle,  either  in  himself  or  any  other  person,  than 
to  think  of  chaining  him  down  to  any  of  the  dull 
courses  of  life,  to  which  the  great  mass  of  mankind 
are  contented  to  resort,  as  the  means  of  acquiring 
a  fortune,  gaining  a  competence,  or  driving  want 
from  the  door.  That  he  must  provide  for  hiinself 
by  his  own  efforts,  was  a  proposition  too  forcibly 
impressed  upon  him  to  be  denied  ;  but  there  seemed 
not  a  single  propensity  of  his  nature,  which  inclined 
him  to  direct  these  efforts  in  the  same  manner 
as  other  people,  or  to  attain  common  ends  by  com- 
mon means.  Poverty  and  privation  were  trifles  of  no 
weight  with  him,  compared  with  the  irksome  necessity 
of  walking  in  the  same  path  that  all  the  world  walked 
in,  and  doing  things  as  all  the  world  had  done  them 
before.  He  thought  this  a  very  tame  pursuit,  unwor- 
thy of  a  rational  man,  whose  soul  should  be  fired  with 
a  nobler  ambition. 

Entertaining  such  views  of  the  objects  of  human 
life,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  should  feel  himself 
hanging  loosely  upon  society,  and  should  discover  that 
while  he  continued  without  purpose  and  without  pro- 
perty, he  would  exhibit  slender  claims  to  the  respect 
of  the  community,  or  the  confidence  of  his  friends. 


r;r4 


ri  hi 


I  ■',! 


'    Jll 


1  • 


I;  / 
.1/ 1 


1 

■ 

: " 

i 

.'! 

!  } 

i    ;  111 

:  i 

t 

i 

1     1 

■         J 

1 

i 

32 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTABD. 


Their  sympathy  he  might  have,  but  this  was  a  boon 
which  he  disdained  to  accept,  when  elicited  by  misfor- 
tunes springing  from  his  own  improvidence,  or  by 
evils  which  he  had  power  to  avoid.  That  he  had  no 
intention  of  fixing  himself  down  in  any  steady  occu- 
pation, is  proved  by  a  remark  in  a  letter  written  from 
Gibraltar.  "I  allot  to  myself,"  said  he,  "a  seven 
years'  ramble  more,  although  the  past  has  long  since 
wasted  the  means  I  possessed."  Often  had  he  heard  his 
grandfather  descant  on  his  ancestors,  and  his  wealthy 
connexions  in  England  ;  and  the  thought  had  entered 
our  rambler's  head,  that  one  day  it  might  be  no  unwise 
thing  for  him  to  visit  these  relatives,  and  claim  alli- 
ance with  them  as  a  hopeful  branch  of  so  worthy  a 
stock.  In  this  stage  of  his  affairs  he  was  convinced, 
that  the  proper  time  had  come,  and  he  suffered  now 
and  then  a  bright  vision  to  play  before  his  fancy,  of 
the  happy  change  that  would  ensue,  by  the  aid  and  in- 
fluence of  his  newly  found  friends  in  England,  who 
would  receive  with  joy  so  promising  a  member  of 
their  family  from  America.  Elated  with  dreams  like 
these,  he  took  a  hasty  leave  of  the  place  of  his  nativi- 
ty, and  the  associates  of  his  youth,  and  made  the  best 
of  his  way  to  New  York,  there  to  seek  out  a  passage 
to  the  land  of  promise. 

The  first  vessel  about  to  sail  for  England  was  bound 
to  Plymouth,  and  in  this  he  obtained  a  birth,  probably 
on  condition  of  working  as  a  sailor.  His  trip  to  the 
Mediterranean  was  now  to  yield  its  fruits.  On  his 
arrival  in  Plymouth  and  leaving  the  vessel,  he  was  re- 
duced to  the  extreme  of  want,  without  money  in  his 
pocket,  or  a  single  acquaintance  to  whom  he  could 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


ss 


m 


apply  for  relief.  Thus  situated  it  behoved  him  to 
make  haste  to  London,  where  he  looked  for  an  imme- 
diate welcome  and  a  home  a.nong  the  relations,  whose 
wealth  and  virtues  he  had  heard  so  much  extolled  by 
his  grandfather.  As  the  good  fortune  of  the  moment 
would  have  it,  he  fell  in  with  an  Irishman,  a  genuine 
specimen  of  the  honesty,  frankness,  and  good  nature, 
which  characterize  many  of  the  sons  of  Erin ; 
whose  plight  so  exactly  resembled  his  own,  that  they 
formed  a  mutual  attachment  almost  as  soon  as  they 
came  in  contact  with  each  other.  There  is  a  sym- 
pathetic power  in  misfortune,  which  is  heedless  of 
the  forms  of  society,  and  acts  not  by  any  cold  rule  of 
calculation.  Both  the  travellers  were  pedestrians 
bound  to  London,  both  were  equally  destitute,  having 
nothing  wherewith  to  procure  a  subsistence.  They 
agreed  to  take  turns  in  begging  on  the  road.  In  this 
manner  they  travelled  harmoniously  together,  till  they 
reached  London,  without  having  any  reason  to  com- 
plain that  Providence  had  neglected  them  on  the  way, 
or  that  there  was  a  lack  of  generous  and  disinterested 
feeling  in  the  human  kind. 

Ledyard's  thoughts  were  now  gay,  for  although  in 
beggary,  he  fancied  that  the  next  step  would  place  him 
at  the  summit  of  his  wishes,  and  open  to  him  wide  the 
door  Oi*  prosperity.  Had  he  possessed  the  very  lamp  of 
Aladdin,  and  been  endued  with  the  Dervise's  power,  he 
could  not  have  been  more  confident  or  happy.  To  find 
out  his  relations  was  now  his  only  anxiety.  By  acci- 
dent he  saw  the  family  name  on  a  carriage,  and  he 
inquired  of  the  coachman  where  the  owner  lived,  and 
what  was  his  occupation*    The  answer  was,  that 


34 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


^^.' 


!?l  ! 


II  f 


M 


M 


'\ 


III 

M  w  if 

1 1 1 


he  was  a  rich  merchant,  and  the  place  of  his  resi- 
dence was  pointed  out.  Our  eager  traveller  hastened 
to  the  house,  inquired  for  the  occupant,  and  ascer- 
tained that  he  was  not  at  home.  A  son  was  there, 
however,  who  listened  to  his  story,  but  gave  him  soon 
to  understand,  that  he  put  no  faith  in  his  representa- 
tions, as  he  had  never  heard  of  any  such  relations  as 
he  told  of  in  America.  He  observed,  moreover,  that 
he  resembled  one  of  the  family,  who  had  been  absent 
some  years  in  the  East  Indies,  and  whom  they  were 
extremely  anxious  to  see,  assuring  him,  that  if  he 
were  really  the  person,  he  would  be  received  with 
open  arms.  This  was  a  very  unlucky  interview,  for 
nothing  ever  raised  Ledyard's  anger  to  so  high  a  pitch, 
as  a  suspicion  expressed  or  implied  of  his  integrity  and 
honest  intentions.  He  seemed  from  that  moment 
determined  to  prosecute  his  inquiry  after  his  family 
connexions  no  further,  but  to  shun  all  that  bore  the 
name.  The  son  pressed  him  to  remain  till  his  father 
should  return,  but  he  abruptly  left  the  house,  and 
never  went  back. 

Some  time  afterwards,  when  he  had  gained  ac- 
quaintances of  respectable  name  in  London,  to  whom 
he  related  his  story,  they  went  with  it  to  the  same 
gentleman,  telling  him,  that  the  young  man  seemed 
honest,  and  they  doubted  not  the  truth  of  what  he  had 
stated.  The  gentleman  refused  at  first  to  credit 
him,  unless  he  would  bring  some  written  evidence. 
Upon  further  inquiry,  however,  he  was  better  satisfied, 
and  sent  for  Lcdyard  to  come  to  his  house.  This  in- 
vitation was  declined  in  no  very  gracious  manner ;  and 
when  money  was  sent  to  him  afterwards  by  the  same 


I    f. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


36 


person,  who  had  heard  that  he  was  in  distress,  he 
rejected  it  with  great  indignation,  and  commanded  the 
bearer  to  carry  it  back  to  his  master,  and  tell  him  that 
he  belonged  not  to  the  race  of  the  Ledyards.  Such 
was  the  end  of  his  dreams  about  his  rich  relations,  and 
it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  his  own  haughty  spirit 
seems  to  have  been  the  chief  enemy  to  his  success. 
He  would  probably  have  called  it  magnanimous  self- 
respect  ;  and,  name  it  as  we  will,  since  it  operated 
wholly  against  himself,  he  must  certainly  be  freed  from 
any  charge  of  mean  motives,  or  selfish  ends. 

It  was  just  at  this  time,  that  Captain  Cook  was 
making  preparation  for  his  third  and  last  voyage  round 
the  world.  So  successful  had  he  been  in  his  former 
expeditions,  and  so  loud  was  the  sound  of  his  fame, 
that  the  whole  country  was  awake  to  his  new  under- 
taking, and  the  general  sensation  was  such,  as  to  in- 
spire adventurous  minds  with  a  wish  to  participate  in 
its  glory.  Nothing  could  more  exactly  accord  with 
the  native  genius  and  cherished  feelings  of  Ledyard. 
As  a  first  step  towards  becoming  connected  with  this 
expedition,  he  enlisted  in  the  marine  service,  and  then 
by  his  address  he  gained  an  introduction  to  Captain 
Cook.  It  may  be  presumed,  that  on  an  occasion  of  so 
much  moment  to  him,  he  would  set  himself  forward 
to  the  best  advantage ;  and  he  had  great  power  in  re- 
commending himself  to  the  favor  of  others,  whenever 
he  chose  to  put  it  in  action.  His  manly  form,  mild  but 
animated  and  expressive  eye,  perfect  self-possession,  a 
boldness  not  obtrusive,  but  showing  a  consciousness  of 
his  proper  dignity,  an  independent  spirit,  and  a  glow 
of  enthusiasm  giving  life  to  his  conversation  and  his 


m 

If  t . . 
•I 


i1" 


ft. 

i 


36 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


whole  deportment, — these  were  traits  which  could  not 
escape  so  discriminating  an  eye  as  that  of  Cook ;  they 
formed  a  rare  combination  peculiarly  suited  to  the 
hardships  and  perils  of  his  daring  enterprise.  They 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  great  navigator,  who  im- 
mediately took  him  into  his  service,  and  promoted  him 
to  be  a  corporal  of  marines. 

In  this  capacity  he  sailed  from  England,  but  tradi- 
tion reports,  on  what  authority  I  know  not,  that  he 
was  in  due  time  raised  to  the  post  of  sergeant. 
That  he  should  have  been  willing  to  undertake  so 
long  a  voyage,  in  so  humble  a  station,  can  be  ac- 
counted for  only  from  his  burning  desire  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  expedition.  His  skill  in  nautical 
matters  was  not  yet  such  as  to  qualify  him  for  a  higher 
place,  even  if  he  had  been  able  to  exhibit  stronger 
pretensions  through  the  agency  and  influence  of 
friends.  But  he  was  in  the  midst  of  strangers,  without 
any  other  claims  to  notice,  than  such  as  he  presented 
in  his  own  person.  These  were  his  only  passport  to 
the  favor  of  Cook,  and  in  relying  on  them  no  one 
was  ever  deceived. 


''  Bil 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


37 


CHAPTER  III. 


Ledyard's  journal  of  his  voyage  with  Captain  Cook. — Testimony  in  his  favor  by 
by  Captain  Bumey. — Sails  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. — Thence  to  Kergue- 
len's  Islands  and  the  south  of  New  Holland. — Character  of  the  people  on  Van 
Diemen's  Land. — Present  state  of  the  colony  there. — Arrives  in  New  Zea- 
land.— Account  of  the  people,  their  manners  and  peculiarities. — Remarkable 
contrasts  exhibited  in  their  character. — Love  adventure  between  an  English 
sailor  and  a  New  Zealand  girl. — Omai,  the  Otalieitan. — Vessels  depart  from 
New  Zealand,  and  fall  in  with  newly  discovered  inlands. — ^Affecting  story  of 
three  Otaheitans  found  on  one  of  them. — Arrival  at  the  Friendly  Islands. — 
People  of  Tongataboo. — Their  condition,  mode  of  living,  and  amusements. — 
Ledyard  passes  a  night  with  the  King. — Wrestling  and  other  athletic  exercises 
described. — Fireworks  exlubited  by  Cook. — Propensity  of  the  natives  to 
thieving. — An  instance  in  a  chief  called  Feenou,  and  the  extraordinary  mea- 
sures used  to  recover  the  stolen  property. — Departure  from  Tongataboo. 


=  ".  c 


The  particulars  of  this  voyage  have  been  so  often 
repeated  from  the  official  narrative,  and  are  so  well 
known,  that  any  formal  attempt  to  give  a  connected 
series  of  events  would  be  superfluous  and  without 
interest.  I  shall,  therefore,  chiefly  confine  myself  to 
such  incidents  as  came  under  our  traveller's  observa- 
tion, and  to  such  remarks  and  reflections  of  his  own, 
as  indicate  his  opinions  and  the  character  of  his  mind. 
He  kept  a  private  journal  of  the  whole  voyage,  but  on 
the  return  of  the  expedition,  before  any  person  had 
landed,  all  papers  of  this  description  were  taken  away, 
from  both  officers  and  men,  by  order  of  the  comman- 
der, and  Ledyard's  journal  among  the  rest.  This 
precaution  was  necessary  to  prevent  an  imperfect  ac- 
count of  the  voyage  going  abroad,  before  one  could  be 
issued  under  the  sanction  of  the  admiralty. 


1^  ■  • 


38 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


.-.•  II 


|iv 


■    f         ':i 


'\    ^1^] 


Ledyard  never  recovered  his  papers,  but  when  he 
returned  to  Hartford,  more  than  two  years  after  the 
termination  of  the  voyage,  his  friends  induced  him  to 
write  the  short  account,  which  appeared  with  his 
name.  To  satisfy  public  curiosity  till  a  complete  work 
could  be  prepared,  a  very  brief  sketch  of  the  voyage 
in  a  single  volume  had  already  been  published  by 
authority  in  England.  This  volume  Ledyard  had  pro- 
cured, and  he  relied  on  it  for  dates,  distances,  the 
courses  of  the  vessels,  and  for  other  particulars  serving 
to  revive  his  recollection  of  what  he  had  experienced 
and  witnessed.  Extracts  are  made  without  alteration 
in  two  or  three  instances,  and  several  of  the  last 
pages  are  literally  copied.  With  no  other  written 
materials  Ledyard  produced  his  manuscript  journal, 
which  ho  sold  to  Mr  Nathaniel  Patten,  publisher  in 
Hartford,  for  twenty  guineas.  It  was  printed  in  a 
duodecimo  volume  containing  a  chart,  and  a  dedica- 
tion to  Governor  Trumbull,  expressive  of  the  author's 
gratitude  for  the  generosity  and  kindness,  which  he 
had  received  from  that  veteran  patriot. 

A  narrative  thus  drawn  up  must  of  course  be  in 
many  respects  imperfect,  but  the  narrator  makes  no 
high  pretensions;  he  never  taxes  our  faith  beyond 
the  obvious  bounds  of  probability,  nor  calls  our  atten- 
tion to  hearsay  reports  and  speculations  of  others.  He 
describes  what  he  saw  and  heard,  and  utters  his  own 
sentiments.  In  a  few  instances  he  varies  from  the 
accounts  afterwards  published  in  England  ;  but  these 
commonly  relate  either  to  occurrences  as  to  which  he 
had  a  better  opportunity  for  personal  knowledge,  or 
concerning  which  for  various  reasons  it  was  the  policy 


m 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


39 


of  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  to  preserve  silence. 
The  train  of  events  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  which  led 
to  the  death  of  Captain  Cook,  is  narrated  by  Ledyard 
in  a  manner  more  consistent  and  natural,  than  appears 
in  any  other  account  of  it.  The  precipitancy  of 
the  officers,  and  of  Cook  particularly,  or  at  least  their 
want  of  caution,  which  was  the  primary  cause  of  the 
tragical  issue,  was  kept  out  of  sight  by  the  authorized 
narrators,  and  a  mystery  long  hung  over  that  catas- 
trophe, owing  to  the  absence  of  any  obvious  coherency 
between  causes  and  effects.  On  this  point  Ledyard's 
narrative  is  full  and  satisfactory,  as  will  be  seen  in  its 
proper  place. 

As  a  proof  of  our  traveller's  activity  of  mind,  and  his 
ardor  of  inquiry,  during  this  voyage,  I  shall  here  quote 
a  passage  from  a  work  recently  published  by  Captain 
James  Burney,  entitled,  A  Chronological  History 
of  Northeastern  Voyages  of  Discovery.  The  author 
of  this  book  was  a  lieutenant  under  Cook  in  his  two 
last  voyages,  son  of  Dr  Burney,  and  consequently 
brother  of  Madame  D'Arblay,  the  celebrated  novelist. 
He  is  repeatedly  mentioned  in  Ledyard's  journal,  and 
was  a  very  enterprising  officer.  The  estimation  in 
which  our  hero  was  held  by  him  will  appear  by  the  fol- 
lowing extract,  as  well  as  by  other  parts  of  the  work. 

"  With  what  education  I  know  not,"  says  Captain 
Burney,  "  but  with  an  ardent  disposition,  Ledyard  had 
a  passion  for  lofty  sentiment  and  description.  When 
corporal  of  marines  on  board  of  the  Resolution,  after 
the  death  of  Captain  Cook,  he  proffered  his  services 
to  Captain  Clerke  to  undertake  the  office  of  historio- 
grapher to  our  expedition,  and  presented  a  specimen, 


f;j 


40 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD* 


iii'i 


which  described  the  manners  of  the  Society  Islanders, 
and  the  kind  of  life  led  by  our  people  whilst  among 
them.  He  was  not  aware  how  many  candidates  he 
would  have  to  contend  with,  if  the  office  to  which  he 
aspired  had  been  vacant ;  perhaps  not  with  fewer  than 
with  every  one  in  the  two  ships  who  kept  journals. 
Literary  ambition  and  disposition  to  authorship  led  us 
in  each  ship  to  set  up  a  weekly  paper.  When  the 
paper  in  either  ship  was  ready  for  delivery,  a  signal 
was  made,  and  when  answered  by  a  similar  signal  from 
the  other  ship,  Captain  Cook,  if  the  weather  was  fine, 
would  good-naturedly  let  a  boat  be  hoisted  out  to 
make  the  exchange,  and  he  was  always  glad  to  read 
our  paper,  but  never  favored  our  editors  with  the  con- 
tribution of  a  paragraph.  I  believe  none  of  these 
papers  have  been  saved,  nor  do  I  remember  by  what 
titles  we  distinguished  them.  Ledyard's  performance 
was  not  criticised  in  our  paper,  as  that  would  have 
entitled  him  to  a  freedom  of  controversy  not  consistent 
with  military  subordination.  His  ideas  were  thought 
too  sentimental,  and  his  language  too  florid.  No  one, 
however,  doubted  that  his  feelings  were  in  accord  with 
his  expressions  ;  and  the  same  is  to  be  said  of  the  little, 
which  remains  of  what  he  has  since  written,  more 
worthy  of  being  preserved,  and  which  its  worthiness 
will  preserve,  and  particularly  of  his  celebrated  com- 
mendation of  women  in  his  Siberian  Tour." 

Ledyard's  contributions  to  the  paper  here  mention- 
ed, and  his  account  of  the  Society  Islanders,  were 
probably  taken  from  him  with  his  manuscript  journal, 
as  I  have  found  no  remnants  of  them  among  his  papers. 
His  printed  Journal  contains  a  graphic  and  animated 


LIFE  OP  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


41 


description  of  the  Society  Islands,  but  it  was  evidently 
written  from  recollection,  like  the  rest  of  the  volume. 
This  testimony  of  Captain  Burney  in  favor  of  his 
habits  of  observation,  and  literary  industry,  may  justly 
inspire  confidence  in  his  writings. 

The  last  expedition  under  Captain  Cook,  and  the 
one  in  which  our  traveller  was  engaged,  left  England 
on  the  twelfth  of  July,  1776.  It  consisted  of  two 
ships,  the  Resolution  and  Discovery,  the  former  com- 
manded by  Captain  Cook,  and  the  latter  by  Captain 
Clerke.  After  touching  at  Teneriffe,  they  proceeded 
to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  came  to  anchor  in 
Table  Bay,  where  they  were  to  refit,  lay  in  a  new 
stock  of  provisions,  and  prepare  for  encountering 
the  incon^'eniences  and  dangers  of  a  long  voyage  in 
the  great  Southern  Ocean,  with  the  certainty  that 
many  months  must  elapse,  before  they  could  hope  to 
arrive  again  in  a  port  of  civilized  people. 

Several  days  were  passed  here  in  getting  all  things 
in  readiness ;  the  men  of  science  employed  themselves 
in  short  excursions  into  the  country  ;  provisions  were 
collected  by  the  proper  officers,  and  th^  sailors  were 
busy  at  their  daily  tasks.  Last  of  all  were  taken 
on  board  various  live  animals,  designed  to  be  left  at 
the  islands  where  they  did  not  exist,  making,  in  con- 
nexion with  those  brought  from  England,  a  motley 
collection  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  hogs, 
dogs,  cats,  hares,  rabbits,  monkeys,  ducks,  geese, 
turkeys,  and  peacocks  ;  thus,  says  our  voyager,  "  did 
we  resemble  t^  Ark,  and  appear  as  thougli  we  were 
going  as  well  to  Stock  as  to  discover  a  new  world." 
iEsop  might  have  conversed  for  weeks  with  such  a 
C 


1 

■ 

ah 

H^Hff ' 

l<, 


I    :'>1,^ 


42 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


IIIm 


i  !i. 


I      "!» 


f'  I 


i 


t 


.(I 


congregated  multitude.  The  monkeys  and  peacocks 
seem  to  have  been  out  of  place  in  this  assembly  of 
sober  and  useful  animals,  and  in  the  end  they  did  little 
credit  to  their  community.  The  monkeys  never  ceased 
from  mischief,  and  the  gay  attire  of  the  peacocks 
tempted  a  chief  of  Tongataboo  to  steal  and  carry 
them  off. 

On  the  first  of  December,  Cook  departed  from  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  proceeded  in  a  southeasterly 
direction,  intending  to  shape  his  course  around  the 
southern  extremity  of  New  Holland.  After  sailing 
twentyfivc  days  and  passing  two  islands,  the  tops  of 
which  were  covered  with  snow,  although  it  was  mid- 
summer in  those  latitudes,  he  came  to  anchor  at  an 
island,  which  had  been  recently  discovered  by  Kergue- 
len,  a  French  navigator.  A  bottle  was  found  sus- 
pended by  a  wire  between  two  rocks,  sealed,  and  con- 
taining a  piece  of  parchment,  on  which  was  written  in 
French  and  Latin  uii  account  of  Kerguelen's  voyage 
and  discovery.  The  island  was  desolate,  without 
inhabUants,  trees,  or  shrubs.  A  little  grass  was 
obtained  for  the  cattle,  and  a  species  of  vegetable  was 
found  resembling  a  wild  cabbage,  but  of  no  value.  It 
rained  profusely,  streams  of  fresh  water  came  down 
from  the  hills,  and  the  empty  casks  were  replenished. 
The  shore  was  covered  with  seals  and  sea-dogs,  the 
former  of  which,  apparently  unconscious  of  danger, 
were  killed  without  difiiculty,  and  they  afforded  a 
seasonable  supply  of  oil  for  lamps  and  other  pur- 
poses. Vast  flocks  of  birds  hovered  around,  and 
the  penguins,  so  little  did  they  understand  the  char- 
acter of  their  visiters,   would  allow  themselves  to 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


43 


be  approached  and  knocked  down  with  clubs.  Man 
was  an  enemy,  whose  sanguinary  prowess  these 
tenants  of  the  lonely  island  had  never  learnt  to 
fear,  and  the  simple  penguin  received  his  death  blow 
with  a  composure  and  unconcern,  that  would  have  im- 
mortalized a  stoic  philosopher.  The  sailors  were 
indulged  in  celebrating  Christmas  at  Kerguelen's 
Island,  after  which  the  ships  sailed,  and  the  next  har- 
bor to  be  gained  was  Adventure  Bay,  in  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  being  at  the  southern  limits  of  New  Holland. 
As  no  discoveries  were  to  be  attempted  during  this 
run,  they  proceeded  directly  to  the  point  of  destina- 
tion, at  which  they  safely  arrived  within  less  than  two 
months  after  leaving  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  ships  being  moored  in  this  bay,  called  by  Tas- 
man,  who  discovered  it,  Frederic  Henry's  Bay,  the 
sailors  were  sent  out  in  parties  to  procure  wood,  water, 
and  grass,  all  of  which  existed  there  in  great  plenty. 
No  inhabitants  appeared,  although  columns  of  smoke 
had  been  seen  here  and  there  rising  through  the  woods 
at  some  distance,  affording  a  sign  that  people  were  in 
the  neighbourhood.  After  a  day  or  two  the  natives 
came  down  to  the  beach  in  small  parties,  men,  women, 
and  children,  but  they  seemed  the  most  wretched  of 
human  beings,  wearing  no  clothes,  and  carrying  with 
them  nothing  but  a  rude  stick  about  three  feet  long, 
and  sharpened  at  one  end.  Their  skin  was  black, 
hair  curly,  and  the  beards  of  the  men,  as  well  as  their 
hair,  besmeared  with  a  red  oily  substance.  They 
were  inoffensive,  neither  manifesting  fear,  nor  offer- 
ing annoyance  to  their  visiters.  When  bread  was 
given  them,  it  was  thrown  uway  without  being  tasted. 


!    '  !' 


44 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


4' 


11  U'  m 


Ii  ^ 


although  they  were  made  to  understand  that  it  was  to 
be  eaten ;  the  same  they  did  with  fish,  which  had  been 
caught  in  the  harbor ;  but  they  accepted  birds,  and 
intimated  a  fondness  for  that  kind  of  food.  When  a 
gun  was  fired,  they  all  ran  off  like  wild  deer  to  the 
woods,  and  were  seen  no  more  that  day ;  but  their 
fright  was  not  of  long  duration,  for  they  came  again 
the  next  morning  with  as  little  unconcern  as  ever.  In 
all  respects  these  people  appeared  in  the  lowest  stage 
of  human  advancement.  "  They  are  the  only  people," 
says  Ledj'ard,  "  who  are  known  to  go  with  their  per- 
sons entirely  naked,  that  have  ever  yet  been  discover- 
ed. Amidst  the  most  stately  groves  of  wood,  they 
have  neither  weapons  of  defence,  nor  any  other  species 
of  instruments  applicable  to  the  various  purposes  of 
life  ;  contiguous  to  the  sea,  they  have  no  canoes ;  and 
exposed  from  the  nature  of  the  climate  to  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  seasons,  as  well  as  to  the  annoyances  of 
the  beasts  of  the  forest,  they  have  no  houses  to  retire 
to,  but  the  temporary  shelter  of  a  few  pieces  of  old 
bark  laid  transversely  over  some  small  poles.  They 
appear  also  to  be  inactive,  indolent,  and  unaffected 
with  the  least  curiosity."  Cook  remarked,  that  the 
natives  here  resembled  those,  whom  he  had  seen  in 
his  former  voyage  on  the  north  part  of  New  Holland, 
and  from  this  and  other  circumstances  it  was  inferred, 
that  New  Holland  from  that  point  northward  was  not 
divided  by  any  strait.  Subsequent  discoveries  over- 
threw this  conjecture,  and  it  has  since  been  made 
known,  that  Van  Diemcn's  Land  is  an  island  separated 
from  New  Holland  by  a  passage,  or  strait,  nearly  one 
hundred    miles  broad,  and  containing  many  small 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


46 


islands.  It  is  remarkable,  that  no  resemblance  has 
been  discovered  between  the  language  of  the  natives 
here,  and  that  spoken  by  the  New  Hollanders. 

On  Van  Die  men's  island  are  now  some  of  the  most 
flourishing  settlements  in  the  British  dominions.  The 
wilderness  is  disappearing  before  the  strong  arm  of 
enterprise,  and  under  the  hand  of  culture  the  hills  and 
valleys  yield  in  abundance  all  the  products,  common  to 
similar  latitudes  in  the  north.  Emigrants  from  Eng- 
land annually  flock  to  that  country,  invest  their  capital 
in  lands,  and  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Towns 
have  been  built,  and  commerce  established.  Wheat, 
maize,  wool,  cattle,  and  other  articles,  are  largely  ex- 
ported, and  there  is  hardly  recorded  in  history  an 
instance  of  a  new  colony  having  increased  so  rapidly 
in  numbers  and  wealth.  The  wild  men,  like  our 
North  American  Indians,  retreat  and  leave  their  native 
soil  to  a  better  destiny. 

When  Cook  had  provided  his  ships  with  wood  and 
water,  they  were  unmoored,  and  their  course  directed 
to  New  Zealand,  where  they  entered  a  cove  in  Queen 
Charlotte's  Sound.  Here  they  remained  a  month, 
which  aflbrded  time  for  observations,  and  for  laying  in 
such  provisions  as  were  found  in  the  country.  New 
Zealand  consists  of  two  islands,  which  are  situate  be- 
tween parallels  of  latitude  on  the  south  of  the  equator, 
nearly  corresponding  with  those  of  the  United  States 
on  the  north,  thus  having  a  variable  climate,  and  a  soil 
suited  to  most  of  the  productions  of  temperate  regions. 
In  the  character  of  the  inhabitants  are  exhibited  con- 
trasts never  perceived  in  any  other  people.  They 
are  cannibals,  devouring  human  victims  with  eagerness 


>'i^ 


jili 

li 

m 


i 


I 


§m 


m. 


III' 


H 


46 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD* 


and  delight,  ferocious  beyond  example  in  their  wars, 
deadly  in  their  revenge,  and  insatiable  in  their  thirst  for 
the  blood  of  their  enemies ;  yet  they  have  many  of 
the  opposite  traits,  strong  attachment  to  friends,  with 
a  quick  sensibility  to  their  sufferings,  and  grief  incon- 
solable at  the  death  of  a  relative  ;  nor  are  they  devoid 
of  generosity,  or  unsusceptible  of  the  tender  passion. 
Living  as  they  do  in  a  temperate  climate,  they  are  an 
athletic,  hardy  race  of  people,  whose  progress  in  re- 
finement boars  no  proportion  to  their  natural  powers 
of  body  and  mind ;  and  thus  no  proper  balance  being 
maintained,  the  contending  elements  of  human  nature, 
the  propensities,  passions,  and  affections,  shoot  forth 
into  the  wildest  extremes.  How  they  should  differ 
so  entirely  from  their  neighbours,  the  New  Hollan- 
ders, who  are  in  nearly  the  same  external  condition,  is 
a  question  upon  which  the  curious  may  speculate,  but 
will  hardly  come  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  Plau- 
sible reasons  may  nevertheless  be  adduced  to  prove, 
that  the  New  Zealanders  and  New  Hollanders,  not- 
withstanding their  proximity,  have  originated  from 
stocks  widely  remote. 

While  the  ships  lay  at  anchor  in  Queen  Charlotte's 
Sound,  a  singular  love  adventure  occurred  between  a 
young  English  sailor  and  a  New  Zealand  girl,  the  par- 
ticulars of  which  are  related  in  Ledyard's  journal,  as 
they  are  also  in  Cook's  Voyages,  and  which  prove  the 
softer  sex  among  savages,  even  the  daughters  of  can- 
nibals, to  be  capable  of  deep  affection  and  strong 
attachment.  An  intimacy  was  contracted  between  a 
sailor  and  a  native  girl  about  fourteen  years  of  age, 
which  grew  stronger  from  day  to  day,  till  at  length  all 


■!^ 


T.IFP.  OV  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


47 


the  time  he  could  spare  from  his  duties  was  devoted  to 
her  society.  He  furnished  her  with  combs  to  decorate 
her  hair,  and  with  ornaments  for  her  person ;  and,  to 
make  himself  more  attractive  in  her  eyes,  he  submit- 
ted to  be  tattooed  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
country.  His  passion  was  reciprocated  in  the  most 
ardent  and  artless  manner  by  the  maiden,  Gowanna- 
hee,  whom  no  conventional  rules  had  taught  to 
conceal  the  emotioi .o  of  nature ;  and  although  they 
understood  not  each  other's  language,  yet  Jove  whis- 
pered in  accents,  which  they  found  no  difficulty  in 
comprehending.  Thus  their  days  and  hours  flew 
rapidly  away,  till  the  time  of  separation  approached. 
Gowannahee  was  much  distressed  when  such  an  event 
was  hinted  at ;  she  would  throw  her  arms  around  her 
lover's  neck,  and  insist  that  he  should  not  go ;  and 
such  were  the  alluring  arts  she  used,  and  such  the 
willingness  of  the  youth  to  be  led  by  them,  that  he 
resolved  to  desert  from  the  ship  and  remain  behind. 
He  contrived  to  remove  his  clothing  and  other  effects 
on  shore,  and  to  escape  by  the  stratagem  of  dressing 
himself  in  the  costume  of  the  natives  and  mingling  in  the 
crowd,  just  as  orders  were  given  to  sail,  and  the  New 
Zealanders  were  required  to  leave  the  ships.  When 
the  roll  was  called  to  ascertain  if  all  hands  were  on 
board,  his  absence  was  discovered.  The  cause  was 
easily  apprehended,  and  some  of  the  officers  were  dis- 
posed to  let  such  an  instance  of  true  love  have  its  re- 
ward, and  not  to  disturb  the  enamored  sailor  in  his 
dreams  of  future  felicity  among  the  savages  of  New 
Zealand.  The  less  sentimental  Cook  was  not  moved 
by  these  mild  counsels ;  he  saw  mischief  in  such  a 


i 


m.  > 


>  I  i ' 


n;:!1  . 


Mi! 


?,  () 


J 


48 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


precedent,  and  he  was  inflexible ;  a  guard  of  marines 
was  despatched  to  search  for  the  truant,  and  bring  him 
back  to  duty.  He  had  proceeded  to  the  inte-ior  and 
secreted  himself  with  his  faithful  Gowannahee,  but 
his  hiding-plac^.  was  at  last  discovered.  As  soon  as 
she  perceived  their  intention  to  take  him  away,  she 
was  overwhelmed  with  anguish,  and  at  the  parting 
scene  on  the  beach  she  yielded  herself  up  (o  expres- 
sions of  grief  and  despair,  which  the  stoutest  heart 
could  not  witness  unmoved.  The  young  sailor  was 
examined  and  tried  for  his  misdemeanor,  but  Cook 
was  so  much  amused  with  the  schemes  he  had  devised 
for  himself,  and  the  picture  he  had  drawn  of  his  future 
prospects  and  greatness,  as  the  husband  of  Gowanna- 
hee,  and  a  chief  of  renown,  that  he  forbore  to  aggra- 
vate the  pains  of  disappointed  hope  by  any  formal 
punishment. 

Recent  observations  have  confirmed  all  that  was 
said  by  Cook  and  his  companions  of  the  New  Zealan- 
ders.  English  missionaries  have  for  some  years  past 
been  stationed  among  them,  and  possessed  the  means 
of  becoming  perfectly  acquainted  with  their  character 
and  habits.  They  have  witnessed  their  banquets  of 
human  flesh,  their  extremes  of  passion,  their  savage 
barbarity  at  one  time,  and  their  docile,  aflectionate 
temper,  and  keen  sensibility  at  another  War  is  their 
highest  delight,  and  in  pursuing  an  enemy,  nothing  of 
the  human  being  seems  left,  except  his  reason  mad- 
dened with  revenge,  and  making  him  adroit  in  the 
work  of  death.  In  several  instances,  boats'  and  ships' 
crews  have  been  cut  off"  and  devoured  by  them.  Yet 
these  people  are  superstitious  and  full  of  religious  fear, 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


49 


imagining  themselves  to  be  surrounded  by  invisible 
spirits,  who  have  power  over  them,  and  who  must  be 
conciliated  by  prayers  and  ceremonies ;   who  control 
the  elements,  bring  rain  on  the  land,  and  rouse  up  the 
winds  and  waves  at  sea.     The   missionaries  have 
known  persons,  become  so  frantic,  at  the  death  of  a 
near  relation,  as  to  commit  suicide  ;  and  it  is  a  common 
thing  for  them  to  wound  and  mangle  their  bodies  in  a 
frightful  manner  on  such  occasions.     When  Mr  Mars- 
den  made  his  second  missionary  tour  to  these  islands, 
after  having  been  away  two  or  three  years,  his  old 
acquaintances  burst  into   tears   in   talking   of   their 
friends,  who  had  died  during  his  absence.     History 
does  not  acquaint  us  with  more  eminent  examples  of 
humanity  and  pious  efforts,  of  resolution   and   self- 
denial,  than  are  manifested  in  the  missionaries,  who 
have  forsaken  even  the  common  comforts  of  civilized 
life,  and  settled  down  with  a  determination  to  pass 
their  days  in  this  region  of  moral  darkness  and  human 
debasement. 

While  Cook  was  at  New  Zealand  he  was  greatly 
assisted  in  his  intercourse  with  the  people  by  Omai,  a 
native  of  the  Society  Islands,  whom  he  had  taken  to 
England  on  a  former  voyage,  and  who  was  now  re- 
turning to  his  country,  loaded  with  presents  from  the 
king,  and  other  persons  whom  curiosity  had  drawn 
around  him,  in  Great  Britain.  Although  Omai  had 
never  before  seen  a  New  Zealander,  yet  the  language 
so  much  resembled  his  o^^'n,  that  he  could  easily  con- 
verse with  the  inhabitants.  As  he  knew  English,  he 
thus  became  a  ready  interpreter.    This  was  an  advaa- 


il# 


i. 


1  ii^ , 

!■     3! 


!'  |l 


ii 


ft' 


If 


50 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


tage,  which  Cook  had  never  been  able  to  enjoy  on 
any  former  occasion. 

.The  vessels  w^eighed  anchor  and  departed  from 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  destined  to  Otaheite,  or,  as 
it  is  now  called,  Tahiti,  the  largest  of  the  Society 
Islands,  and  about  fifteen  hundred  miles  distant  from 
New  Zealand.  Head  winds  and  boisterous  weather 
forced  them  out  of  their  course  ;  grass  and  water  for 
the  cattle,  as  well  as  fresh  provisions  for  the  men,  be- 
gan to  fail ;  and  it  was  thought  best  to  bear  away  for 
the  Friendly  Islands,  where  a  supply  could  be  at  once 
obtained.  On  this  passage  they  fell  in  with  several 
islands  never  before  discovered,  but  their  shores  were 
so  closely  bound  with  coral  reefs  as  to  prevent  the  ap- 
proach of  the  ships.  The  natives  came  off  in  canoes, 
and  brought  hogs  and  fruit,  which  they  gave  in  ex- 
change for  articles  of  little  value. 

A  small  party,  consisting  of  Mr  Burney,  three  or 
four  other  officers,  and  Omai,  landed  on  one  of  these 
islands,  called  Watteeoo,  where  they  were  immediate- 
ly plundered  of  everything  they  had  about  them,  and 
detained  through  the  day.  Great  crowds  gathered 
around,  and  annoyed  them  much,  but  no  violence  was 
offered  to  their  persons.  Here  Omai  was  astonished 
to  find  three  of  his  own  countrymen.  Their  story 
was  affecting.  Several  years  before,  they  had  set  off 
in  a  large  canoe  with  a  party  of  about  twenty  persons, 
men,  women,  and  children,  to  pass  from  Otaheite  to 
Ulietea,  a  neighbouring  island.  A  storm  overtook 
them,  and,  after  continuing  three  days,  drove  them  so 
far  out  to  sea,  that  they  knew  not  where  they  were, 
nor  what  course  to  steer.     Some  of  the  women  and 


I'l 


LIFE  OF  JOHN   LEDTARD. 


51 


children  had  perished  in  the  storm,  and  others  were  so 
much  exhausted  as  to  survive  no  longer.  The  canoe 
was  carried  along  by  the  current  from  day  to  day ; 
water  and  provision  failed  ;  some  of  the  survivors  died 
of  hunger  and  fatigue ;  others  in  the  frenzy  of  despair 
jumped  overboard  and  were  drowned  ;  and  after  thir- 
teen days,  when  the  canoe  was  discovered  by  the 
natives  of  Watteeoo,  it  contained  but  four  men,  and 
these  so  much  reduced  by  famine  and  suffering,  as  to  be 
unconscious  of  their  situation,  and  scarcely  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  dead  bodies,  with  which  they  were 
promiscuously  lying,  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  They 
were  taken  on  shore,  and  by  kind  treatment  they 
gradually  recovered  their  consciousness  and  strength. 
One  had  since  died,  but  the  other  three  said  they 
were  happy  in  their  adopted  country,  and  declined 
Omai's  invitation  to  return  with  him  to  their  native 
islands,  adding  that  their  nearest  relatives  had  perished 
before  their  eyes  on  the  disastrous  voyage,  and  it 
would  only  be  renewing  their  grief  to  visit  again  the 
places,  in  which  they  had  formerly  known  them. 

The  distance  between  Otaheite  and  Watteeoo  is 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  this  voyage  of  a 
canoe  affords  an  important  fact  in  solving  the  great 
problem,  which  has  so  long  perplexed  geographers  and 
speculating  philosophers,  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  innumerable  clusters  of  islands  in  the  Pacific  ocean 
have  been  peopled.  We  here  have  proof  incontestible, 
that  a  communication  between  remote  islands  was 
possible,  even  by  such  means  only  as  the  natives 
themselves  possessed.  This  single  fact,  in  short,  is 
enough  to  settle  the  question. 


J-Vi'  , 


%^ 


■*'« 


.v»^  "-*-•■• 


m 


^*" 


52 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


1  ;i 


ill 


V  I 


After  touching  at  Anamoca,  and  remaining  some 
days  at  the  Happaee  Islands,  Cook  came  to  anchor  in 
a  harbor  of  Tongataboo,  on  the  ninth  of  June.  Here 
they  staid  twenty-six  days,  collecting  a  great  abun- 
dance of  provisions,  and  living  on  social  and  friendly 
terms  with  the  natives.  This  island  is  exceedingly 
fertile,  covered  with  forests  and  luxuriant  herbage. 
Agriculture  and  the  arts  of  life  were  carried  to  a  much 
greater  extent  here,  than  at  New  Zealand,  or  indeed 
most  of  the  South  Sea  islands.  The  kind  disposition 
of  the  people  had  given  to  Tongataboo,  and  the  clus- 
ter of  islands  in  its  neighbourhood,  the  name  of  the 
Friendly  Islands.  Later  experience  has  proved,  that 
they  had  a  smaller  claim  to  this  distinction,  than  was 
at  first  supposed.  It  is  very  probable,  however,  that 
their  acquaintance  with  civilized  men  was  the  principal 
cause  of  their  apparent  change  of  character.  They 
learnt  new  vices  faster  than  they  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  their  criminality,  or  the  moral  power  of  resisting 
temptation.  Nowhere  have  the  missionaries  found 
their  situation  more  uncomfortable,  or  their  task  more 
difficult,  than  at  the  Friendly  Islands.  When  visited 
by  Cook,  the  people  were  comparatively  amiable,  sim- 
ple, and  happy,  addicted  to  the  weaknesses,  but  not 
to  the  grosser  crimes  of  the  savagi^  state ;  accustomed 
to  warlike  enterprises,  but  not  making  them,  as  did 
the  New  Zealanders,  the  chief  source  of  their 
pleasure,  and  the  great  business  of  their  lives.  On 
the  contrary,  they  had  amusements  of  an  innocent 
kind,  as  well  as  curious  religious  ceremonies^  which 
occupied  much  of  their  time,  and  were  suited  to  a 
state  of  peace  and  tranquillity.      These  were  often 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


63 


exhibited,  and  obviously  as  much  with  a  desire  to 
please  their  visitants,  as  to  show  off  their  skill  tc^d- 
vantage,  or  promote  their  own  gratification.  The 
king,  or  great  chief,  whose  name  was  Pouiaho,  treated 
Cook  with  marked  respect,  and  caused  all  his  people 
to  do  the  same,  as  far  as  he  could  exercise  his  power 
to  that  end.  Ledyard  describes  in  an  agreeable  man- 
ner the  scenes,  that  came  under  his  observation  at 
Tongataboo.  The  day  after  landing,  it  was  his  duty 
to  be  on  shore,  and  tie  passed  the  night  with  Pouiaho, 
who  had  declined  Cook's  invitation  to  go  with  him  on 
board. 

"It  was  just  dusk,"  says  Ledj  <rd,  '*when  they 
parted,  and  as  I  had  been  present  daring  a  part  of  this 
first  interview,  and  was  dc  .jiT:.\ed  on  shore ,  I  was  glad 
he  did  not  go  off,  and  aske  i  hiin  to  my  tent ;  but  Pou- 
lako  chose  rather  to  have  me  go  with  him  to  his  Ik  ase, 
where  we  went  and  sat  down  together  without  the 
entrance.  We  had  been  here  but  a  few  minutes,  be- 
fore one  of  the  natives  advanced  through  the  grove  to 
the  skirts  of  the  green,  and  there  halted.  Pouiaho 
observed  him,  and  told  me  he  wanted  him,  upon 
which  I  beckoned  to  the  Indian,  and  he  came  to  us. 
When  he  appro*^-  i.' d  Pouiaho,  he  squatted  down  upon 
his  hams,  and  put  hi^orehead  to  the  sole  of  Poulaho's 
foot,  and  then  received  some  directions  from  him,  and 
went  awa",  and  returned  again  very  soon  with  some 
baked  yams  and  fish  rolled  up  in  fresh  plantain  leaves, 
and  deposited  in  a  little  basket  made  of  palm  leaves, 
and  a  large  cocoanut  shell  full  of  clean  fresh  water, 
and  a  smaller  one  of  salt  water.  These  he  set  down, 
and  went  and  brought  a  mess  of  the  same  kind,  and 


•N 


54 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


H 


set  them  down  by  me.  Poulaho  then  desired  I  would 
eat^  but  preferring  salt,  which  I  had  in  the  tent,  to  the 
sea  water  which  they  used,  I  called  one  of  the  guard, 
and  had  some  of  that  brought  me  to  eat  with  my  fish, 
which  was  really  most  delightfully  dressed,  and  of 
which  I  ate  very  heartily. 

**  Their  animal  and  vegetable  food  is  dressed  in  the 
same  manner  here,  as  at  the  southern  and  northern 
tropical  islands  throughout  these  seas,  being  all  baked 
among  hot  stones  laid  in  a  hole,  and  covered  over  first 
with  leaves  and  then  with  mould.  Poulaho  was  fed 
by  the  chief  who  waited  on  him,  both  with  victuals 
and  drink.  After  he  had  finished,  the  remains  were 
carried  away  by  the  chief  in  waiting,  who  returned 
soon  after  with  two  large  separate  rolls  of  cloth,  and 
two  little  low  wooden  stools.  The  cloth  was  for  a 
covering  while  asleep,  and  the  stools  to  raise  and  rest 
the  head  on,  as  we  do  on  a  pillow.  These  were  left 
within  the  house,  or  rather  under  the  roof,  one  side 
being  open.  The  floor  within  was  composed  of  coarse 
dry  grass,  leaves,  and  flowers,  over  which  were  spread 
large  well  wrought  mats.  On  this  Poulaho  and  I  re- 
moved and  sat  down,  while  the  chief  unrolled,  and 
spread  out  the  cloth ;  after  which  he  retired,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  there  appeared  a  fine  young  girl  about 
seventeen  years  of  age,  who,  approaching  Poulaho, 
stooped  and  kissed  his  great  toe,  and  then  retired  and 
sat  down  in  an  opposite  part  of  the  house.  It  was 
now  about  nine  o'clock,  and  a  bright  moonshine  ;  the 
sky  was  serene,  and  the  winds  hushed.  Suddenly  I 
heard  a  number  of  their  flutes,  beginning  nearly  at  the 
same  time,  burst  from  every  quarter  of  the  surrounding 


T 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


56 


grove  ;  and  whether  this  was  meant  as  an  exhilarating 
serenade,  or  a  soothing  soporific  to  the  great  Poulaho, 
I  cannot  tell.  Immediately  on  hearing  the  music  he 
took  me  by  the  hand,  intimating  that  he  was  going  to 
sleep,  and  showing  me  the  other  cloth,  which  was 
spread  nearly  beside  him,  and  the  pillow,  invited  me 
to  use  it." 

After  describing  the  occupations  of  the  natives, 
their  traffic,  articles  of  trade,  and  some  of  their  cus- 
toms, he  speaks  of  their  amusements. 

"  The  markets  being  over,  there  were  generally  an 
hour  or  two,  and  those  before  dark,  in  which  the  na- 
tives, to  entertain  us  and  exhibit  their  own  accom- 
plishments, used  to  form  matches  at  wrestling,  boxing, 
and  other  athletic  exercises,  of  which  they  were  very 
vain,  and  in  which  they  were  by  far  the  best  accom- 
plished of  all  the  people  we  ever  visited  before  or 
after.  These  exercises  were  always  performed  on  the 
green  within  the  circle,  and  among  the  Indian  specta- 
tors there  were  a  certain  number  of  elderly  men,  who 
presided  over  and  regulated  the  exercise.  When  one 
of  the  wrestlers,  or  combatants,  was  fairly  excelled, 
they  signified  it  by  a  short  sonorous  sentence,  which 
they  sung,  expressing  that  he  was  fallen,  fairly  fallen, 
or  that  he  was  fairly  conquered,  and  that  the  victor 
kept  the  field.  From  this  there  was  no  appeal,  nor 
indeed  did  they  seem  to  want  it,  for  among  their 
roughest  exercises  I  never  saw  any  of  them  choleric, 
envious,  malicious,  or  revengeful ;  but  preserving  their 
tempers,  or  being  less  irascible  than  we  generally  are, 
they  quit  the  stage  with  the  same  good  nature  with 
which  they  entered  it. 


i 

vm 


,'t  •■ 


-»; 


^ 


'I? 


ii 


56 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


1 


':  f 


»*  When  they  wrestle,  they  seize  each  other  by  a 
strong  plaited  girdle,  made  of  the  fibres  of  the  cocoa- 
nut,  and  worn  round  the  waist  for  that  purpose ;  and 
they  describe  nearly  the  same  operations  in  this  con- 
test that  we  do  in  what  we  call  hugging  or  scuffling. 
In  boxing  their  manoeuvres  are  different.  They  had 
both  hands  clenched,  and  bound  round  separately  with 
small  cords,  which  perhaps  was  intended  to  prevent 
their  clenching  each  other  when  closel}?  engaged,  thus 
preventing  foul  play ;  or  it  might  be  to  preserve  the 
joints  of  the  fingers,  and  especially  the  thumb,  from 
being  dislocated.  Perhaps  the  best  general  idea  I  can 
convey  of  their  attitudes  in  this  exercise,  is  to  com- 
pare them  with  those  of  the  ancient  gladiators  of 
Rome,  which  they  much  resembled. 

"  They  are  very  expert  and  intrepid  in  these  per- 
formances, but  as  they  are  mere  friendly  efforts  of  skill 
and  prowess,  they  continue  no  longer  than  till  the  pur- 
poses of  such  a  contention  are  answered ;  and  the 
combatant,  as  soon  as  he  finds  that  he  shall  be  con- 
quered, is  seldom  such  an  obstinate  fool,  as  to  be  beat 
out  of  his  senses  to  be  made  sensible  he  is  so,  but  re- 
tires most  commonly  with  a  whole  skin.  But  the 
exercise  of  the  club  is  not  so,  and  as  these  contests 
are  very  severe,  and  even  dangerous,  they  are  seldom 
performed.  We  never  saw  but  one  instance  of  it,  but 
it  was  a  most  capital  one,  as  the  performers  were 
capital  characters ;  and  though  we  expected  the  exhi- 
bition to  be  very  short,  yet  it  lasted  nearly  twenty 
minutes,  protracted  by  the  skill  of  the  combatants  in 
avoiding  each  other's  blows,  some  of  which  were  no 
less  violent  than  artful.    After  being  pretty  well  buf- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


57 


feted  about  the  body,  a  fortuitous  blow  upon  the  head 
of  one  decided  the  matter,  and  the  conquered  was 
carried  off,  while  the  victor,  elated  with  success,  stood 
and  enjoyed  the  subsequent  shouts  of  praise,  that  pro- 
ceeded from  the  spectators.  When  these  shouts  end- 
ed, the  young  women  round  the  circle  rose,  and  sang, 
and  idanced  a  short  kind  of  interlude  in  celebration  of 
the  hero." 

Not  to  be  outdone  by  the  monarch  of  the  Friendly 
Isles  in  politeness  and  attempts  to  please.  Cook  got  up 
a  brilliant  exhibition  of  fireworks,  with  which  Poulaho 
and  all  his  people  were  greatly  astonished  and  delight- 
ed. The  mathematical  and  astronomical  instruments, 
which  had  been  fitted  up  in  tents  on  shore,  were  also 
matters  of  curiosity  and  wonder.  The  natives  were 
particularly  amused,  likewise,  with  the  horses,  cows, 
sheep,  goats,  and  other  animals,  which  Ledyard  said, 
on  leaving  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  made  the  ships 
resemble  Noah's  ark.  As  dogs  and  hogs  were  the 
only  animals  found  on  the  islands,  and  of  course  the 
only  ones  ever  before  seen  by  the  inhabitants,  they 
seemed  completely  puzzled  to  know  what  to  make  of 
these  new  orders  of  the  creation.  The  sheep  and 
goats  they  called  birds ;  but  the  horses,  cows,  cats,  and 
rabbits,  were  nondescripts  for  which  no  place  had  been 
assigned  in  their  scientific  arrangement. 

Thus  agreeably  passed  the  days  at  Tongataboo; 
the  good-natured  people  omitted  nothing,  which  was 
in  their  power,  to  gratify  their  visiters,  whether  by 
supplying  them  with  the  best  provisions  the  ishinds 
aObrded,  or  by  amusing  them  with  innocent  pastimes. 
One  thing  only  marred  the  harmony  of  their  inter- 
8 


58 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


course.  These  simple  and  hospitable  people,  each 
and  all,  from  the  highest  rank  downwards,  were  incor- 
rigible thieves  ;  that  is,  they  made  no  scruple  to  take 
whatever  they  could  lay  their  fingers  upon,  and  appro- 
priate it  to  their  own  use.  This  habit  was  prevalent 
throughout  all  the  South  Sea  islands,  but  nowhere  had 
the  voyagers  been  so  much  annoyed  by  it,  as  at  these 
islands  of  friendship.  Cook  resorted  to  summary  and 
severe  measures  to  teach  the  natives  what  he  thought 
of  this  vice,  and  sometimes  inflicted  punishments  little 
suited  to  the  moral  light  of  the  people,  whom  he 
arraigned  as  transgressors.  It  does  not  appear  that 
pilfering  was  deemed  a  crime,  or  a  disreputable  of- 
fence, and  indeed  the  historian  of  Cook's  Voyages 
declares,  that  "  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  Sea 
islands  in  their  petty  larcenies  were  actuated  by  a 
childish  disposition,  rather  than  a  thievish  one."  In 
this  view  of  the  subject,  it  can  hardly  be  imagined 
that  there  was  any  natural  right  in  the  civilized  visi- 
ters to  inflict  harsh  punishment  on  their  ignorant  and 
kind  entertainers ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  cruel  and 
unjust ;  it  was  the  last  way  to  gain  friends,  or  to  in- 
spire the  natives  with  a  love  of  the  moral  code.  Led- 
yard  speaks  with  warmth  of  some  examples  of  this 
kind,  which  came  under  his  notice,  but  adds,  alluding 
to  Cook,  **  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  ability  of 
performing  the  important  errand  before  us,  depended 
very  much,  if  not  entirely,  upon  the  precarious  supplies 
we  might  procure  from  these  and  other  such  islands, 
and  he  must  of  consequence  be  very  anxious  and  soli- 
citous in  this  concernment ;  but  perhaps  no  considera- 
tion will  excuse  the  severity,  which  he  sometimes  used 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


69 


towards  the  natives  on  these  occasions ;  and  he  would 
probably  have  done  better  to  consider,  that  the  full  ex- 
ertion of  extreme  power  is  an  argument  of  extreme 
Weakness  ;  and  nature  seemed  to  inform  the  insulted 
natives  of  the  truth  of  this  maxim,  for  before  we  quit- 
ted Tongataboo,  we  could  not  go  anywhere  into  the 
country  upon  business  or  pleasure  without  danger." 

One  instance  is  related  with  more  particularity  than 
others,  as  it  occurred  in  high  life,  and  was  made  a 
state  concern.  In  Tongataboo  was  a  chief  called 
Feenou,  a  man  of  fine  personal  appearance,  graceful 
and  commanding  in  his  carriage,  frank  in  his  disposi- 
tion, generous,  enterprising,  and  bold ;  in  short,  he 
was  the  idol  of  the  people,  and  throughout  all  the  isles 
there  was  no  chief,  whose  renown  was  so  loudly  and 
heartily  trumpeted  as  that  of  Feenou.  He  was  the 
man,  whom  the  great  Poulaho  delighted  to  honor 
above  others.  When  the  strangers  came,  Feenou  was 
their  early  and  devoted  friend,  and  his  attachment  and 
kind  offices  held  out  to  the  last.  "  If  they  lost  any 
goods,  and  these  were  carried  either  to  the  interior  of 
Tongataboo,  or  to  any  of  the  detached  islands,  their 
only  confidential  resource  was  Feenou  ;  or  if  any  other 
emergency  required  despatch,  policy,  courage,  or 
force,  Feenou  was  the  man  to  advise  and  act."  Such 
were  the  character  and  deeds  of  this  chief.  He  could 
subdue  the  hearts  of  men,  and  the  strength  of  an  ene- 
my, but  he  could  not  conquer  the  tyranny  of  habit. 
From  day  to  day  he  had  gazed  with  inward  raptures 
upon  the  gaudy  plumage  of  the  peacocks,  which  had 
been  brought  with  much  care  and  trouble  from  Eng- 
land ;  their  charms  were  irresistible;  just  as  the  ves- 
sels were  about  to  sail,  the  peacocks  disappeared ; 


wm 


5'S 


i 

'Li 


"¥ 


Jl 


60 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Feenou  was  also  out  of  the  way ;  he  had  stolen  the 
birds,  and  concealed  himself  with  his  booty. 

The  affront  was  resented  by  Cook  in  an  extraordi- 
nary manner ;  he  immediately  ordered  Poulaho,  the 
king,  to  be  arrested,  and  placed  a  guard  over  him  in 
his  own  house,  giving  him  to  understand  that  he 
should  be  held  a  prisoner  till  the  peacocks  were  re- 
stored. Thki  was  a  novel  mode  of  making  a  king 
answerable  for  the  acts  of  his  subjects.  Much  disor- 
der ensued  ;  the  chiefs  felt  the  insult  offered  to  their 
sovereign,  and  b^gan  to  assume  a  warlike  attitude,  and 
threaten  the  guard  ;  but  Poulaho  advised  them  to  de- 
sist, and  preserve  peace  till  a  reconciliation  should  be 
attempted  ;  and  when  Cook  appeared,  the  king  salut- 
ed him  with  dignity  and  respect,  but  with  a  manifest 
sense  of  the  injustice  that  was  practised  upon  him. 
His  coolness  and  counsel  kept  the  people  from  offering 
violence  to  the  guards,  who  surrounded  him  with  fixed 
bayonets;  and  the  n'ext  day  Feenou  himself  came 
forward,  entreated  for  the  release  of  the  king,  and 
assured  Cook  that  the  birds  should  be  returned  to  him 
before  sunset.  Thus  the  affair  was  happily  termi- 
nated, leaving  a  much  stronger  proof  of  the  firmness 
than  the  prudence  of  the  great  navigator.  The  re- 
conciliation was  followed  by  magnificent  presents  of 
red  feathers  and  provisions  on  the  part  of  Feenou,  and 
others  equally  valuable  fronft  Cook.  He  gave  Poulaho 
some  of  the  domestic  animals,  which  he  had  brought 
from  England  for  the  purpose  of  distributing  among 
the  islands.  All  parties  separated  mutually  satisfied 
with  each  other,  and  with  as  warm  tokens  of  friend- 
ship from  the  natives,  as  could  be  expected  after  the 
recent  transactions. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


61 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Society  Islands. — Otaheite. — Ledyard's  description  of  the  language,  customs, 
religion,  laws,  and  government  of  the  natives. — Their  probable  faith  in  the 
doctrine  of  transmigration. — Remarks  on  his  mode  of  reasoning  on  this  sub- 
ject.— His  theory  of  the  origin  of  customs  and  superstitions. — Notions  of  a 
Diety  among  the  Otaheitans. — Conduct  of  Omai. — Difficulties  attending  the 
efforts  to  civilize  savages. — Sandwich  Islands  discovered. — The  vessels  proceed 
to  the  American  continent,  and  anchor  in  Nootka  Sound. — Appearance  and 
manners  of  the  people. — Indian  wampum. — The  abundance  of  furs. — Canni- 
balism.— Curious  digression  on  the  origin  and  practice  of  sacrifices. — Captain 
Cook  passes  Bering's  Straits,  explores  the  northern  ocean  till  stopped  by  the 
ice,  and  returns  to  the  island  of  Onalaska. — Sends  Ledyard  with  two  Indians 
in  search  of  a  Russian  establishment  on  the  coast. — His  account  of  this 
adventure. — In  what  manner  he  was  transported  in  a  canoe. — Village  of 
Russians  and  Indians.^ — Hot  baths. — Their  habitations  and  manner  of  living 
dcL^^ribed. — Bering's  vessel. — Ledyard  retiirns  to  the  ships,  and  reports  to 
Captain  Cook. — Expedition  returns  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

We  shall  next  join  our  navigators  at  the  Society 
Islands,  where  they  arrived  on  the  fourteenth  of  Au- 
gust. Many  of  the  officers  and  seamen,  who  had  been 
there  on  a  former  voyage,  were  recognised  by  the  na- 
tives, and  received  with  great  cordiality ;  the  day  of 
landing  at  Otaheite  was  given  up  to  festivity  and 
mutual  congratulations  between  old  acquaintances. 

The  occurrences  during  their  stay  at  these  islands, 
are  related  in  a  lively  manner  by  Ledyard.  He  de- 
scribes the  natural  productions  of  the  Society  Islands, 
the  appearance  and  condition  of  the  natives,  their 
food,  clothing,  and  houses,  their  language,  customs, 
religion,  laws,  and  government.  From  the  minute- 
ness with  which  he  speaks  on  most  of  these  subjects, 
it  is  evident  that  the  principal  points  in  the  essay 


%;li 


62 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


mentioned  by  Mr  Burney  were  still  fresh  in  his 
memory,  and  moreover  that  he  was  a  close  and  in- 
quisitive observer  of  everything,  which  came  within 
his  reach  or  knowledge. 

"  The  inhabitants,"  he  remarks,  "  are  of  the  largest 
size  of  Europeans ;  the  men  are  tall,  strong,  well 
limbed,  and  fairly  shaped.  The  women  of  superior 
rank  among  them  are  also  in  general  above  our  middle 
size,  but  those  of  the  inferior  rank  are  far  below  it ; 
some  of  them  are  quite  small.  Their  complexion  is  a 
clear  olive,  or  brunette,  and  the  whole  contour  of  the 
face  quite  handsome,  except  the  nose,  which  is  generally 
a  little  inclined  to  be  fiat.  Their  hair  is  black  and 
coarse  ;  the  men  have  beards,  but  pluck  the  greatest 
part  of  them  out ;  they  are  vigorous,  easy,  graceful, 
and  liberal  in  their  deportment,  and  of  a  courteous, 
hospitable  disposition,  but  shrewd  and  artful.  The 
women  cut  their  hair  short,  and  the  men  wear  theirs 
long.  They  have  a  custom  of  staining  their  bodies  in 
a  manner  that  is  universal  among  all  those  islands^  and 
is  called  by  them  tattooing ;  in  doing  this  they  prick 
the  skin  with  an  instrument  of  small  sharp  bones, 
which  they  dip  as  occasion  requires  into  a  black  com- 
position of  coal  dust  and  water,  which  leaves  an  in- 
delible stain.  The  operation  is  painful,  and  it  is  some 
days  before  the  wound  is  well. 

"  Their  clothing  consists  of  a  cloth  made  of  the 
inner  rind  of  the  bark  of  three  different  kinds  of  trees, 
the  Chinese  paper  mulberry,  the  bread-fruit  tree,  and 
a  kind  of  wild  fig  tree,  which,  in  the  formation  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  cloth,  are  differently  disposed  of  by 
using  one  singly,  or  any  two,  or  all  of  them  together. 


..^• 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


63 


The  principal  excellences  of  this  cloth  are  its  coolness 
and  softness;  its  defects  are  its  being  pervious  to 
water  and  easily  torn.  They  sometimes,  especially  if 
it  is  wet,  wear  fine  mats  of  which  they  have  a  great 
variety. 

*'  Their  amusements  are  music,  dancing,  wrestling, 
and  boxing,  all  which  are  like  those  of  Tongataboo. 

"  As  to  the  religion,  laws,  and  government  of  these 
people,  much  has  been  said  about  them  by  former 
voyagers ;  and  in  truth  too  much,  especially  about 
their  religion,  which  they  are  not  fond  of  discovering, 
and  therefore,  when  urged  on  the  matter,  -  they  have 
often,  rather  than  displease  those  who  made  the  in- 
quiry, told  not  only  different  accounts,  but  such  as 
were  utterly  inconsistent  with  what  we  knew  to  be 
true  from  ocular  demonstration.  They  assured  us, 
for  instance,  that  they  never  sacrificed  human  bodies, 
but  an  accident  happened,  that  contradicted  it,  and 
gave  us  the  full  proof  of  it,  the  operation  and  design. 

"  They  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  at 
least  its  existence  in  a  future  state ;  but  how  it  exists, 
whether  as  a  mere  spiritual  substance,  or  whether  it 
is  united  again  to  a  corporeal  or  material  form,  and 
what  form,  is  uncertain.  It  is  supposed  they  have 
notions  of  transmigration.  Our  conjectures  originate 
from  observing  that  universal,  constant,  and  uniform 
regard,  which  they  pay  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  to 
every  species  of  subordinate  beings,  even  to  the  minut- 
est insect,  and  the  most  insignificant  reptile.  This 
was  never  esteemed  a  philosophical  sentiment,  nor  a 
mere  dictate  of  nature,  because  the  people  who  enter- 
tain these  notions  are  not  led  to  embrace  them  by  the 


I 


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':'A„ 


■M 


li 


64 


LIFE  OP  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


unbiassed  impulses  of  nature,  which  would  lead  them 
to  regard  their  own  species  more  than  any  other.  It 
must,  therefore,  be  from  other  motives,  and  I  know  of 
none  so  probable  as  religion  or  superstition,  which  are 
indeed  synonymous  terms  when  applied  to  these  peo- 
ple ;  besides,  it  is  well  known  to  have  been  a  religious 
sentiment  among  many  other  people,  both  ancient  and 
modern,  who  have  claimed  the  appellation  of  civilized. 
It  exists  now  among  several  Asiatic  sects,  both  east 
and  west  of  the  Ganges,  particularly  among  the 
Banians,  who  abstain  from  all  animal  food.  It  is  well 
known,  that  some  tribes  in  Asia  have  built  hospitals 
for  certain  species  of  subordinate  beings." 

The  author's  reasoning  here  about  the  doctrine  of 
transmigration  is  somewhat  curious,  but  his  inference 
that  the  natives  believed  in  it,  because  they  showed  a 
regard  for  inferior  animals,  is  at  least  questionable. 
He  goes  on  to  enforce  his  opinion,  however,  by  re- 
marking that  they  eat  little  animal  food,  and  abstain 
from  the  flesh  of  some  kinds  of  birds  altogether.  In 
killing  animals,  also,  they  are  careful  to  inflict  as  little 
pain  as  possible ;  they  are  extremely  indulgent  to  rats, 
with  which  they  are  much  infested,  and  rarely  do 
them  any  harm ;  when  stung  by  flies  or  musquitoes, 
they  only  frighten  them  away.  This  lenity  towards 
animals,  however  commendable  in  those  who  practise 
it,  will  hardly  prove  their  faith  in  the  doctrine  of 
transmigration,  or  that  these  savages  refrained  from 
crushing  a  fly  or  musquito,  because  they  apprehended 
a  spirit,  which  had  once  animated  a  human  form, 
had  been  doomed  to  an  existence  in  one  of  these 
insects.    It  is  a  favorite  theory  of  the  author,  at  which 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


65 


he  hints  on  several  occasions,  that  such  habits  and 
superstitions  of  a  people,  as  are  woven  into  their  char- 
acter and  history,  must  have  come  down  from  some 
very  remote  time,  and  not  have  sprung  out  of  casual  or 
local  circumstances,  of  which  any  knowledge  exists. 
He  says,  ^^  all  the  customs  of  mankind  appear  to  be 
derivative  and  traditionary."  How  far  he  would  carry 
back  the  tradition,  he  does  not  add ;  but  this  doctrine 
of  transmigration  he  traces  to  Asia,  and  supposes  it  to 
have  found  its  way  to  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  with 
the  first  settlers,  who  came  from  that  quarter,  and  to 
have  kept  its  place  through  all  subsequent  changes 
among  the  superstitions  of  their  descendants. 

"  Their  notions  of  a  Deity,"  he  continues,  "  and 
the  speculative  parts  of  their  religion,  are  involved 
even  among  themselves  in  mystery,  and  perplexed 
with  inconsistencies ;  and  their  priests,  who  alone  pre- 
tend to  be  informed  of  it,  have,  by  their  own  indus- 
trious fabrications  and  the  addition  of  its  traditionary 
fables,  shut  themselves  up  in  endless  mazes  of  inex- 
tricable labyrinths.  None  of  them  act  alike  in  their 
ceremonies,  and  none  of  them  narrate  alike  when  in- 
quired of  concerning  the  matter ;  therefore,  what  ihey 
conceive  respecting  a  God  we  cannot  tell ;  though  we 
conclude  upon  the  whole  that  they  worship  one  great 
Supreme,  the  author  and  governor  of  all  things  ;  but 
there  seems  to  be  such  a  string  of  subordinate  gods 
intervening  between  him  and  the  least  of  those,  and 
the  characters  of  the  whole  so  contrasting,  whimsical, 
absurd,  and  ridicubus,  that  their  mythology  is  very 
droll,  and  represents  the  best  of  the  group  do  better 
than  a  harteqam. 
9 


lyi'Mi 


i\ 


^a-  . 


'> 


66 


LIFE  OF  JOFVl*'   <.^DYARD. 


i;  il'*l 


"  The  government  of  Otaheite  resembles  the  early 
condition  of  every  government,  which,  in  an  unim- 
proved and  unrefined  state,  is  ever  a  kind  of  feudal 
system  of  subordination,  securing  licentious  liberty  to 
a  few,  and  a  dependant  servility  to  the  rest." 

Having  above  spoken  of  Omai,  the  native  of  the 
Society  Islands,  whom  Cook  had  taken  with  him  to 
England  on  a  former  voyage,  and  who  had  received 
every  possible  advantage  for  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  habits,  arts,  and  enjoyments  of  civilized  life, 
the  reader  may  be  curious  to  know,  in  what  manner 
he  demeaned  himself  when  he  returned  to  his  native 
country,  and  what  were  the  prospects  of  his  being 
benefited  by  his  acquisitions  and  experience,  in  this 
case,  as  in  many  others,  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  at- 
tempt to  enlighten  the  ignorance  and  change  the 
character  of  the  savage  was  unsuccessful.  On  landing 
at  Otaheite,  says  Ledyard,  "  we  had  a  number  of 
visiters,  among  whom  was  a  sister  of  Omai,  who  came 
to  welcome  her  brother  to  his  native  country  aga'n ; 
but  the  behavior  of  Omai  on  that  occasion  was  conso- 
nant to  his  proud,  empty,  ambitious  heart,  and  he 
refused  at  first  to  own  her  for  his  sister ;  the  reason 
of  which  was,  her  being  a  poor  obscure  girl,  and  as  he 
expected  to  be  nothing  but  king,  the  connexion  would 
disgrace  him."  In  a  few  days  the  vessels  sailed  over 
to  Hueheine,  the  native  island  of  Omai,  at  which 
he  was  finally  to  be  left.  Here  a  small  house  was 
built  for  him,  in  which  his  effects  were  deposited. 
About  an  acre  of  ground  adjoining  the  house  was  pur- 
chased of  the  natives,  surrounded  with  a  ditch,  and 
gonverted  into  a  garden,  in  which  various  European 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED  YARD. 


61 


seeds  were  planted.  Several  of  the  live  animals, 
brought  from  England,  were  also  put  on  shore,  and  left 
under  his  charge. 

"  When  ready  to  sail,  Captain  Cook  made  an  enter- 
tainment on  behalf  of  Omai  at  his  little  house,  and  in 
order  to  recommend  him  still  further  to  the  chiefs  of 
the  island,  he  invited  them  also.  Every  body  enjoyed 
himself  but  Omai,  who  became  more  dejected  as  the 
time  of  his  taking  leave  of  us  for  ever  approached ; 
and  when  he  came  finally  to  bid  adieu,  the  scene  was 
very  affecting  to  the  whole  company.  It  is  certainly 
to  be  regretted,  that  Omai  will  never  be  of  any  service 
to  his  country  by  his  travels,  but  perhaps  will  render 
his  countrymen,  and  himself  too,  the  more  unhappy." 

The  subsequent  fate  of  Omai  is  not  known,  but 
had  his  knowledge,  his  efforts,  or  his  example  pro- 
duced any  valuable  ejects  in  his  native  island,  the 
monuments  of  them  would  have  been  obvious  to 
future  voyagers.  There  has  never  been  a  more  idle 
scheme  of  philanthropy,  than  that  of  converting  a 
savage  into  a  civilized  man.  No  one  attempt,  it  is 
believed,  has  ever  been  successful.  Even  Sampson 
Occum,  before  his  death,  relapsed  into  some  of  the 
worst  habits  of  his  tribe,  and  no  North  American  In- 
dian of  unmixed  blood,  whatever  pains  may  have  been 
taken  with  his  education,  has  been  known  to  adopt 
the  manners  of  civilized  men,  or  to  pass  his  life  among 
them.  The  reason  is  sufficiently  plain,  without  resort- 
ing to  natural  instinct.  In  a  civilized  community,  a 
man  who  has  been  a  savage,  must  always  feel  himself 
inferior  to  those  around  him ;  this  feeling  will  drive 
him  to  his  native  woods,  where  he  can  claim  and 


^:^m 


H 


il! 

I 


"  .11 


68 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


maintain  an  equality  with  his  associates.  This  is  the 
universal  sentiment  of  nature,  and  none  but  a  slave 
can  be  without  it.  When  a  man  lives  with  savages, 
he  will  assume  the  habits  of  a  savage,  the  light  of 
education  will  be  extinguished,  and  his  mind  and  hi9 
moral  sense  will  soon  adapt  themselves  to  his  con- 
dition. 

The  vessels  at  length  departed  from  the  Society 
Islands,  and  took  a  northerly  course,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  falling  in  with  the  coast  of  America,  at  about 
the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude.  After  sailing 
six  weeks,  without  approacijing  any  other  land,  than 
an  uninhabited  island,  consisting  i-hieHy  of  a  bed  of 
coral  rocks,  and  abounding  in  turtle  of  a  hue  quality, 
the  mariners  were  greeted  with  a  view  of  high  land  at 
a  distance,  wliich  was  not  marked  on  the  charts.  It 
proved  to  be  a  new  discovery,  and  was  one  of  the 
group  of  islands,  named  ^  't^rwards  by  Cook  the  Sand" 
wicti  Islands,  A  sate  harbor  was  i'ound  and  entered, 
in  which  the  vessels  were  no  sooner  anchored,  ihan 
they  were  surrounded  by  canoes  tided  with  the 
natives,  who  regarded  the  new  comers  with  inex- 
pressible surprise,  though  not  with  apparent  fear.  A 
source  of  astonishment  to  the  navigators  was,  that  the 
people  should  s|)eak  a  language  dilfcring  but  little  from 
those  of  the  Society  Islands  and  New  Zealand,  which 
were  distant,  the  first  nearly  three  thousand,  and  the 
other  four  thousand  miles,  with  an  ocean  intervening. 
The  wide  extent  of  tlie  Polynesian  dialects  was  not 
then  known.  Although  very  shy  at  first,  the  natives 
were  not  long  in  suntmoning  courage  to  go  on  board. 
Tiity  looked  with  wouder  upon  the  objects  arouud 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


69 


them,  exnmined  the  hands,  faces,  and  clothes  of  the 
sailors,  and  inquired  if  they  could  eat.  When  satisfied 
on  this  head,  by  seeing  them  devour  dry  biscuit,  the 
simple  islanders  were  eager  to  show  their  hospitality, 
and  presented  them  with  pigs,  yams,  sweet  potatoes, 
and  plantains,  thus  verifying  a  declaration  of  Ledyard 
on  another  occasion,  that  "  all  uncivilized  men  are 
hospitable."  A  friendly  intercourse  was  established, 
and  provisions  were  given  in  barter  for  old  iron,  nails, 
and  other  articles  of  little  intrinsic  value,  but  impor- 
tant to  the  natives. 

Cook  remained  ten  days  only  at  these  islands,  and 
then  sailed  for  the  American  coast,  intending  to  visit 
them  again  on  his  return  from  the  north  in  the  follow- 
ing winter.  U  was  now  the  first  of  February,  and  no 
time  was  to  be  lost  in  hastening  his  voyage  to  the 
northward,  for  his  plan  was  to  proceed  along  the 
American  shore,  and  run  through  Beriag's  Strait,  so 
as  to  explore  the  polar  latitudes  at  the  proper  season. 
Without  any  remarkable  accident  or  adventure  he 
reached  the  continent,  and  anchored  in  Nootka  Sound. 
This  is  an  extraordinary  bay,  extending  several 
leagues  into  the  country,  and  completely  land-locked. 
On  the  first  «i;i;ht  ihe  ships  were  anchored  in  water 
nearly  five  hundred  feet  deep,  and  in  other  parts  it 
was  more  than  six  hundred.  A  convenient  harbor 
was  found  the  next  day.  The  bay  is  surrounded  by 
lofty  hills,  and  the  shore  is  so  bold,  that  the  ships 
were  secured  by  ropes  fastened  to  trees. 

Our  wanderer  was  now  on  his  native  continent,  and 
ahiiough  more  tlian  three  thousand  miles  from  the 
place  of  his  birth,  yet  he  could  not  rf^sist  the  scusa- 


,i » 


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70 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


tions  kindled  by  the  remembrance  of  home.  All  the 
deep  emotions,  says  he,  "  incident  to  natural  attach- 
ments and  early  prejudices  played  around  my  heart, 
and  1  indulged  them."  The  feeling  was  spontaneous 
and  genuine.  Ledyard  saw  in  the  inhabitants,  like- 
wise, indications  of  an  affniitv  between  them  and  the 
Indians,  whom  he  had  visited  in  his  native  country. 
In  all  his  travels  he  manifests  a  remarkable  acuteness 
in  observing  the  human  character  in  its  various  grada- 
tions of  improvement,  and  particularly  in  detecting 
resemblances  between  uncivilized  people  of  different 
regions.  vVhether  among  the  South  Sea  Islands,  on 
the  Northwest  Coast  of  America,  in  Kamtschatka,  Si- 
beria, or  Egypt,  remarks  of  this  sort  escape  him  con- 
tinually. He  seems  to  have  had  in  his  mind  a  scale 
upon  which  he  graduated  the  nations  of  men,  and 
which  he  studied  so  carefully,  that  he  could  assign 
to  each  its  proper  place.  His  observations  were  not 
restricted  to  one  class  of  qualities  or  circumstances, 
but  they  extended  to  all  that  constitute  individual  and 
national  ])eculiarities,  to  the  intellect,  physical  charac- 
teristics, modes  of  living,  drt.ss,  wa^.KC  implements, 
habitations,  finniture,  government,  religion,  social 
state,  and  domcistic  habits.  Nor  was  he  merely  ob- 
serving and  incjuisitive ;  he  was  addicted  to  thought 
and  rellection.  His  theories  were  raised  on  the  basis 
of  facts :  his  results  were  sustained  by  reasons,  satis- 
factory a(  least  to  himself.  He  was  fond  of  pursuing 
analogies,  especially  in  regard  to  th(^  origin^  customs, 
and  characters  of  the  various  races  of  men,  and  hero 
the  wide  compass  of  his  in(piiries  suitplird  him  with 
so  many  materials  not  accessible  tu  othtis,  that  ho 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


71 


sometimes  came  to  conclusions  less  obvious  to  those 
wlto  follow  him,  than  they  were  to  his  own  mind. 
His  d<'scription  of  the  people  of  Nootka  is  here  in- 
serted. 

"  I  had  no  sooner  beheld  these  Americans,  than  I  set 
them  down  for  the  same  kind  of  people,  that  inhabit 
the  opposite  side  of  the  continent.  They  are  rather 
above  the  middle  stature,  copper-colored,  and  of  an 
athletic  make.  They  have  long  black  hair,  which 
they  p;enerally  wear  in  a  club  on  the  top  of  the  head ; 
they  fill  it,  when  dressed,  with  oil,  paint,  and  the  down 
of  birds.  Tney  also  paint  their  faces  wiib  red,  blue, 
and  white  colors,  but  from  whentc  they  had  them,  or 
how  they  were  prepared,  they  would  not  inform  us, 
nor  could  we  tell.  Their  clothing  generally  consists 
of  skins,  but  they  have  two  other  sorts  of  garments ; 
the  one  is  made  of  the  inner  rind  of  some  sort  of 
bark,  twisted  and  united  together  like  the- woof  of  our 
coarse  cloths ;  the  other  very  strongly  resembles  the 
New  Zealand  togf.y  uid  is  also  prir.c".  ^ally  made  with 
the  hair  of  their  do:i>,  w'Sivh  are  mostly  white  and  of 
the  domestic  kind.  Vnon  'his  garment  is  displayed, 
very  well  exei  m\>K  the  r -inner  of  their  catching  the 
whale  ;  wc  suv  nothing  si»  V(;ll  done  by  a  savage  in 
our  travels,  llni  ji^arments  of  all  kinds  are  worn 
mantlewisc,  anH  ihe  borders  of  them  are  fringed,  or 
terminated  with  some  particular  kind  of  ornament. 
Their  richest  skins,  when  converted  to  garments,  are 
edged  with  a  great  ruri.^  ty-  This  is  nothing  less, 
than  the  very  species  of  wampum^  so  well  known  on 
the  opposite  sidi;  of  the  cout'i-.ient.  It  is  identically 
the  same ;   and   this  wampum  was  not  only  found 


1  «v 


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J 


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11 


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i|r 

li  1 

j  j ,: 

1 

lyi' 


11 


72 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED  YARD. 


among  all  the  aborigines  we  saw  on  this  side  of  the 
continent,  but  even  exists  unmutilated  on  the  opposite 
<;oasts  of  North  Asia.  We  saw  them  make  use  of  no 
coverings  to  their  feet  or  legs,  and  it  was  seldom  they 
covered  their  heads.  When  they  did,  it  was  with  a 
kind  of  a  basket  covering,  made  after  the  manner  and 
form  of  the  Chinese  and  Chinese  Tartars'  hats. 
Their  language  is  very  guttural,  and  if  it  were  possi- 
ble to  reduce  it  to  our  orthography,  it  would  very 
much  abound  with  consonants.  In  their  manners  they 
resemble  the  other  aborigines  of  North  America. 
They  are  bold  and  ferocious,  sly  and  reserved,  not 
easily  provoked,  but  revengeful ;  we  saw  no  signs  of 
religion  or  worship  amoi  g  them,  and  if  they  sacrifice, 
it  is  to  the  god  of  liberty." 

The  fact  here  stated,  respecting  wampum,  is  curious, 
and  confirms  a  remark  of  the  author,  that  the  diffusive 
power  of  commerce  extended  at  that  time  throughout 
the  whole  continent  of  North  America.  "  Nothing," 
says  he,  "  ('an  impede  the  progress  of  commerce  among 
the  uninformed  part  of  mankind,  but  an  intervention  of 
too  remote  a  communication  by  water."  Civilized 
nations  may  impose  restrictions,  or  adopt  regulations, 
under  the  name  of  protecting  laws,  and  thereby  embar- 
rass commerce,  but  when  left  free  to  move  in  its  own 
channels,  there  is  no  obscure  nook  of  human  society, 
which  it  will  not  pervRde.  licdynrd  discovered, 
among  the  natives  on  the  Northwest  coast,  copjjer 
bracelets  and  knives,  which  could  only  have  come  to 
them  across  the  continent  from  Hudson's  Bay.  Clap- 
perton  found  nrticles  of  English  miuuifa*  ture  in  the 
heart  of  Africa ;  ai:d  the  Russian  embassy  to  liuka- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


73 


4l 


ria  met  with  others  from  the  same  source  in  central 
Asia.  The  wampum  of  the  North  American  Indians 
has  been  an  article  of  traffic,  and  probably  passed  as 
a  kind  of  currency  among  all  the  tribes  from  time 
immemorial. 

Ledyard's  views  of  the  commercial   resources  of 
Nootka   Sound,  and   other  parts  of  the   Northwest 
Coast,  must  not  be  overlooked  in  this  place,  because 
they  were  the  foundation  of  many  important  succeed- 
ing events  of  his  life,  in  suggesting  to  him  the  benefits 
of  a  trafficing  voyage  to  that  coast.     It  will  be  seen 
hereafter,  that  he  was  the  first,  whether  in  Europe  or 
America,  to  propose  such  a  voyage  as  a  mercantile 
enterprise,  and  that  he  persevered  against  numerous 
obstacles  for  several  years,  though  with  fruitless  en- 
deavors,  to  accomplish  his   object.     The  furs,  pur- 
chased of  the  natives  for  a  mere  trifle,  were  sold  in 
China  at  an  enormous  advance,  which  had  not  been 
anticipated,  but  which  gave  ample  proof  of  the  advan- 
tages of  such  a  commerce,  undertaken  upon  a  large 
scale.     After  enumerating  some  of  tlm  productions  of 
the  soiV  ho  addy,  "The  light  in  which  this  country 
will  appear  most  to  advantage  respects  the  variety  of 
its  animals,  and  the  richness  of  their  furs.     They  have 
foxes,   sables,   hares,   marmosets,   ermines,   wcazles, 
bears,  wolves,  deer,  moose,  dogs,  otters,  beavers,  and  a 
species  of  weazle  called  the  glutton.    The  skin  of  this 
animnt  ^vas  sold  at  Kamtschatka,  a  Russian  factory  on 
the  Asiatic  coast,  for  sixty  rubles,  which  is  near  twelve 
•Tjuineas,  and  had  it  been  sold  in  China,  it  would  have 
been  worth  thirty  guineas.     W  j  purchased  while  here 
nI)Gut  fitoen  hundred  beaver,  besides  other  skins,  but 
10 


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'M''^ 


u 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


,!    'I 


1*1     V 


n 


took  none  but  the  best,  having  no  thoughts  at  that 
time  of  using  them  to  any  other  advantage,  than  con- 
verting them  to  the  purposes  of  clothing ;  but  it  after- 
wards happened  that  skins,  which  did  not  cost  the  pur- 
chaser sixpence  sterling,  sold  in  China  for  one  hundred 
dollars.  Neither  did  we  purchase  a  quarter  part  of  the 
beaver  and  other  fur  skins  we  might  have  done,  and 
most  certainly  should  have  done,  had  we  known  of 
meeting  the  opportunity  of  disposing  of  them  to  such 
an  astonishing  profit." 

At  Nootka  Sound,  and  at  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
Ledyard  witnessed  instances  of  cannibalism.  In  both 
places  he  saw  human  flesh  prepared  for  food,  but  on 
one  occasi  )n  only  at  each ;  for,  he  says,  the  sailors  ex- 
pressed such  a  horror  at  the  sight,  that  the  natives 
never  ventured  to  repeat  the  act  in  their  presence.  In 
this  part  of  his  narrative  he  makes  a  digression  on 
sacrifices,  which  I  shall  quote,  not  so  much  for  its 
originality,  or  the  conclusiveness  of  its  reasoning,  as 
to  show  his  manner  of  considering  the  subject.  His 
notion  is,  that  cknnibalism,  or  the  custom  of  eating 
human  flesh,  which  has  by  no  means  been  uncommon 
among  savage  tribes,  Lad  its  origin  in  the  custom  of 
saciilicing  human  victims.  There  is  good  evidence, 
tlat  rthcr  tribes  of  North  American  Indians,  besides 
those  at  Nootka,  have  been  cannibals,  if  they  are  not 
so  even  at  the  present  day.  There  was  a  time,  when 
some  philanthropists  professed  to  doubt  the  existence 
of  this  habit,  so  shocking  to  humanity,  but  the  mass 
of  testimony  brought  to  light  since  Cook's  first  voyage 
is  such,  us  to  coijqucr  the  most  obstinate  reluctance  to 
conviction.  Let  the  skeptic  look  at  New  Zealand, 
and  cease  to  doubt. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


76 


"  The  custom  of  sacrificing  is  very  ancient.   The  first 
instance  we  have  of  it  is  in  the  lives  of  Cain  and  Abel. 
Their  sacrifices  consisted  in  part  of  animal  flesh,  burnt 
upon  an  altar  dedicated  to  God.     This  custom  exists 
now  among  all  the  uncivilized  and  Jewish  nations,  in 
the  essential  rites  requisite  to  prove  it  analogous  to  the 
first  institution.     The   only  material  change  in   the 
ceremony  is,  that  the  barbarous  nations  have  added 
human   flesh.      Whether    this    additional   ingredient 
in  the  oblation  took  place  at  a  remote  subsequent 
period,  by  the  antecedent  intervention  of  any  extraor- 
dinary circumstance  independent  of  the  original  form, 
does  not  appear,  unless  we  place  the  subsequent  period 
below  the   time   of  Abraham,  or  perhaps   below  the 
time  of  Jephthah.     The  circumstance  of  Abraham's 
intended  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  to  which  he  was  enjoined 
by  the  Deity,  though  he  absolutely  did  not  do  it,  yet 
was  sufficient  to  introduce  the  idea,  that  such  a  sacri- 
fice uas  the  most  pleasing  to  God,  and  as  it  was  an 
event  very  remarkable,  it  probably  became  an  histori- 
cal subject,  and  went  abroad  among  other  tribes,  and 
was  handed  down  among  them  by  tradition,  and  liable 
to  all  the  changes  incident  thereto ;  and  in  time  the 
story  might  have  been,  that  Abraham  not  only  offered, 
but  really  did  sacrifice  his  own  son.     But  perhaps  the 
story  of  Jephthah,  judge  of  Israel,  is  more  to  the  point. 
It  is  said,  he  sacrificed  his  daughter  as  a  burnt-offering 
to  the  god,  who  had  been  propitious  to  him  in  war  ; 
which  does  appear  to  be  an  act  independent  of  custom, 
or  tradition,  as  it  was  performed  wholly  from  the  obliga- 
tions of  a  rash  vow,  made  to  the  Deity  in  the  lulness 
of  a  heart  surcharged  with  hopes  and  fears.    It  is  also 


'..lul 


!i  ;  il 


i  i&~T~   ■■*"  ■ 


76 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


a  fact,  that  after  this,  particularly  in  the  reign  of  the 
wicked  Ahaz,  it  was  a  general  custom,  especially 
among  the  heathen,  to  make  their  children  *pass 
through  the  fire  ; '  by  which  I  suppose  it  is  understood, 
that  they  were  sacrificed  with  fire. 

"  It  seems,  then,  that  the  circumstance  of  adding 
human  flesh  in  the  ceremony  of  sacrificing,  did  take 
place  in  the  years  antecedent  to  Christ,  and  most 
probably  from  the  example  of  Jephthah.  After  this  we 
find  it  shifting  places,  attending  the  diffusive  emigra- 
tions of  the  tribes,  and  commixing  with  mankind  in 
general,  but  especially  with  those  disunited  from  the 
chosen  descendants  of  the  great  Abraham  ;  whose  de- 
scendants, being  constantly  favored  with  civil  and 
religious  instructions  from  Heaven  itself,  were  not  only 
preserved  from  superstition  and  barbarity  themselves, 
but  were  the  means  of  furnishing  the  detached  heathen 
with  a  variety  of  customs  and  ceremonies,  that  from 
the  mere  light  of  nature  they  never  could  have  thought 
of ;  nor  could  they  preserve  them  pure  and  uncorrupt 
after  they  had  adopted  them.  Even  the  favored 
Israelites  were  perpetually  deviating  into  schisms  and 
cabals,  and  frequently  into  downright  idolatry,  and  all 
the  vanity  of  superstition  and  unbridled  nonsense, 
from  the  imbecility  of  human  policy,  when  uninflu- 
enced by  heavenly  wisdom  and  jurisprudence.  No 
wonder,  tlien,  that  the  separate  tribes  from  the  house 
of  Abraham,  though  they  primarily  received  many  of 
their  principles  of  civil  and  religious  government  from 
a  pure  fountain,  should  debase  and  contaminate  them 
by  the  spurious  conjunction  of  things  derived   from 


their  o\\  n  mmgi nations. 


And  this  seems  to  have  been 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


77 


the  course  of  things  to  this  day.  There  hath  always 
been  a  part  of  mankind  conspicuous  for  knowledge, 
superior  in  wisdom,  and  favored  by  Heaven,  from 
whom  others  are  separated ;  and  these,  like  the  moon, 
have  only  shone  with  borrowed  light.  Some  customs 
may  be  local  and  indigenous  to  particular  times  and 
circumstances,  both  in  the  civilized  and  uncivilized 
world,  but  far  the  greater  part  are  derivative,  and 
were  originally  bestowed  on  man  by  his  supreme 
Governor  ;  those  that  we  find  among  the  civilized  and 
wise,  measured  on  a  philosophic  scale,  are  uncorrupt- 
ed,  while  those  that  we  find  existing  in  parls  remote 
from  civilization  and  knowledge,  though  they  have  a 
resemblance  which  plainly  intimates  from  whence  they 
came,  are  yet  debased,  mutilated,  and  by  some  hardly 
known.  But  who,  that  had  seen  a  human  body  sacri- 
ficed at  Otaheite  to  their  god  of  war,  would  not  per- 
ceive an  analogy  to  ancient  custom  on  those  occasions, 
and  attribute  it  rather  to  such  custom,  than  to  any 
other  cause  whatever.  And  the  custom  is  not  con- 
fined to  Otaheite  alone ;  it  pervades  the  islands 
throughout  the  Pacific  ocean.  It  was  the  case  with 
the  ancient  Britons.  The  Mexicans  depopulated 
society  by  this  carnivorous  species  of  sacrifice.  This 
could  not  be  the  effect  of  accident,  want,  or  caprice. 
It  may  be  worthy  of  notice  to  remark  furthermore, 
that  in  the  time  of  Ahaz,  these  sacrifices  were 
made  in  high  places.  It  was  so  in  Mexico,  and  is  so 
at  Otaheite  and  other  islands.  The  Mexicans  flung 
their  victims  from  the  top  of  their  temple,  dedicated 
to  their  god  of  war.  The  Otaheitans  and  the  other 
islanders  prepare  those  oblations  on  their  Morais." 


!  i  v: 


78 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


4  ;ii'/i  r 


I 


:  i  i; 


!, 


ii 


!li 


ll;.',.ii|l 


Captain  Cook  remained  a  few  days  only  at  Nootka 
Sound,  and  then  sailed  northward  coasting  along  the 
American  shore,  and  making  various  geographical  dis- 
coveries till  he  came  to  Bering's  Strait,  which  sepa- 
rates Asia  from  America.  In  passing  through  this 
Strait,  Ledyard  says  both  continents  were  distinctly 
seen  at  the  same  time.  Cook  traversed  the  polar 
seas  in  the  month  of  August,  as  far  north  as  the  ice 
would  permit,  in  search  of  a  northwest  passage,  but 
without  success.  As  the  season  advanced,  he  returned 
to  the  south,  intending  to  renew  his  attempts  the  next 
year. 

Few  occurrences  are  recorded  in  the  voyage  back 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  There  is  one,  however, 
which  merits  particular  attention  in  this  narrative, 
since  our  hero  was  the  chief  actor.  The  adventure 
is  mentioned  in  Cook's  Voyages,  and  by  Captain 
Burney,  as  highly  creditable  to  the  enterprise  and  dis- 
cretion of  Ledyard.  It  happened  at  the  island  of 
Onalaska,  on  the  Northwest  Coast.  Ledyard  himself 
wrote  a  particular  description  of  it,  which  hardly 
admits  of  abridgment,  and  which  may  best  be  given, 
therefore,  in  his  own  words. 

"  I  have  before  observed,  that  we  had  noticed  many 
appearances  to  the  eastward  of  this,  as  far  almost  as 
Sandwich  Sound,  of  an  European  intercourse,  and 
that  we  had  at  this  island  in  particular  met  with  cir- 
cumstances, that  did  not  only  indicate  such  an  inter- 
course, but  seemed  strongly  to  intimate,  that  some 
Europeans  were  actually  somewhere  on  the  spot.  The 
appearances  that  led  to  these  conjectures  were  such 
as  these.    We  found  among  the  inhabitants  of  this 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


79 


island  two  difTerent  kinds  of  people,  the  one  we  knew 
to  be  the  aborigines  of  America,  while  we  supposed 
the  others  to  have  come  from  the  opposite  coasts  of 
Asia,  There  were  two  different  dialects  also  ob- 
served, and  we  found  them  fond  of  tobacco,  rum,  and 
snuff.  Tobacco  we  even  found  them  possessed  of, 
and  we  observed  several  blue  linen  shirts  and  drawers 
among  them.  But  the  most  remarkable  circumstance 
was  a  cake  of  ''ve  meal  newly  baked,  with  a  piece  of 
salmon  in  it  asoned  with  pepper  and  salt,  which 
was  brought  and  presented  to  Cook  by  a  comely 
young  chief,  attended  by  two  of  those  Indians,  whom 
we  supposed  to  be  Asiatics.  The  chief  seemed 
anxious  to  explain  to  Cook  the  meaning  of  the  pre- 
sent, and  the  purport  of  his  visit ;  and  he  was  so  far 
successful  as  to  persuade  him,  that  there  were  some 
strangers  in  the  country,  who  were  white,  and  had 
come  over  the  great  waters  in  a  vessel  somewhat  like 
ours,  and  though  not  so  large,  was  yet  much  larger 
than  theirs. 

"  In  consequence  of  this.  Cook  was  determined  to 
explore  the  island.  It  was  oifficult,  however,  to  fix 
upon  a  plan,  that  would  at  once  answer  the  purposes 
of  safety  and  expedition.  An  armed  body  would 
proceed  slowly,  and  if  they  should  be  cut  off  by  the 
Indians,  the  loss  in  our  present  circumstances  would 
be  irreparable ;  and  a  single  person  would  entirely  risk 
his  life,  though  he  would  be  much  more  expeditious  if 
immolested,  and  if  he  should  be  killed  the  loss  would 
be  only  one.  The  latter  seemed  the  best,  but  it  was 
extremely  hard  to  single  out  an  individual,  and  com- 
mand him  to  go  upon  such  an  expedition ;  and  it  was 


■;    'M 


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IMAGi  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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HiotogFaphic 

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Corporadon 


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VVIMTN.N.Y.  UIM 
( 71* )  171-4103 


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80 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


!■  ii' 


therefore  thought  proper  to  send  a  volunteer,  or  none. 
I  was  at  this  time,  and  indeed  ever  after,  an  intimate 
friend  of  John  Gore,  first  lieutenant  of  the  Resolution, 
a  native  of  America  as  well  as  myself,  and  superior  to 
me  in  command.  He  recommended  me  to  Captain 
Cook  to  undertake  the  expedition,  with  which  I  im- 
mediately acquiesced.^    Captain   Cook  assured  me. 


*  The  following  biographical  sketch  has  been  furnished  from  a 
source  which  gives  it  a  claim  to  confidence. 

Captain  John  Gore  was  born  about  the  year  1730,  in  the  Colony  of 
Virginia.  It  may  hb  reasonably  inferred,  that  he  was  brought  up  to  the 
sea,  as  he  served  a  long  time  on  board  the  Windsor  man-of-war,  during 
the  contest  which  preceded  the  American  Revolution.  In  the  suc- 
cessive voyages  of  the  Dolphin,  under  Byron  and  Wallis,  he  served  as 
a  master's  mate,  and  on  his  return  to  England  with  the  latter,  was 
promoted  to  a  lieutenancy.  The  Endeavour  was  then  preparing  for  a 
similar  expedition,  and  having  been  appointed  her  second  lieutenant, 
he  accompanied  Captain  Cook  in  his  first  voyage  round  the  world.  In 
the  following  year,  1772,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  mer- 
chant-ship, which  had  been  engaged  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks  for  the  pur- 
pose of  visiting  Iceland  and  tlie  Hebrides ;  and  did  not  return  again 
until  after  the  departure  of  the  Resolution  and  Adventure. 

In  the  last  voyage  of  Captain  Cook,  he  served  as  first  lieutenant  of 
the  Resolution,  and  on  the  deatli  of  the  navigator,  and  of  Coptain 
Gierke,  he  respectively  succeeded  to  the  captaincy  of  the  Discovery 
and  to  the  chief  command.  On  his  arrival  in  England,  lie  was  imme- 
diately promoted  to  the  rank  of  Post  Captain,  and  shortly  afler  to  the 
station  in  Greenwich  Hospital,  which  was  to  have  been  returned  by 
Captain  Cook,  in  the  event  of  his  having  returned.  He  remained  in 
this  honorable  retirement  till  his  death,  which  is  recorded  in  a  publica- 
tion of  the  time,  in  the  following  words. 

"  August  10, 17iN) — At  his  apartments  in  Grecnwicli  Hospital,  sin- 
cerely regretted  liy  all  who  had  tlie  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance.  Cap- 
tain John  Gore,  one  of  the  Captains  of  Greenwich  Hospital,  a  most 
experienced  seaman,  and  an  honor  to  his  profession.  He  had  sailed 
four  times  round  tlio  world;  first  with  Commodore  Byron;  socondi;, 
with  Captain  Wallii,  and  the  two  lost  times  with  Captain  James 
Cook." 


LIFE  OF  JOHN    LEDYARD. 


ftt 


that  he  was  happy  I  had  undertaken  it,  as  he  was 
convinced  I  should  persevere ;  and  after  giving  me 
some  instructions  how  to  proceed,  he  wished  me  well, 
and  desired  I  would  not  be  longer  absent  than  a  week 
if  possible,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  should  ex- 
pect me  to  return.  If  1  did  not  return  by  that  time, 
he  should  wait  another  week  for  me,  and  no  longer. 
The  young  chief  before-mentioned,  and  his  two  at- 
tendants, were  to  be  my  guides.  I  took  with  me 
some  presents  adapted  to  the  taste  of  the  Indians, 
brandy  in  bottles,  and  bread,  but  no  other  provisions. 
I  went  entirely  unarmed,  by  the  advice  of  Captain 
Cook.  The  first  day  we  proceeded  about  fifteen 
miles  into  the  interior  part  of  the  island,  without  any 
remarkable  occurrence,  until  we  approached  a  village 
just  before  night.  This  village  consisted  of  about 
thirty  huts,  some  of  them  large  and  spacious,  though 
not  very  high.  The  huts  are  composed  of  a  kind  of 
slight  frame,  erected  over  a  square  hole  sunk  about 
four  feet  into  the  ground  ;  the  frame  is  covered  at  the 
bottom   with  turf,  and  upwards   it  is  thatched  with 


In  thn  theoretioal  attainments  of  his  profesaion,  Captain  Gore  may 
have  been  equalled  by  many,  liiit  aa  a  practical  navigator  he  was 
surpuasol  by  none.  As  an  oiBccr,  he  ap|M>arH  to  have  blended  u  proper 
degree  of  prudence  with  the  most  unshaken  intrepidity ;  nnd  his  illus- 
trious commander  declares,  tliat  ho  ever  reposed  the  fullest  confidence 
in  his  diliffonce  and  ability.  In  his  disposition  he  wus  benevolent ;  and 
his  generosity  (us  is  remarked  by  Captain  Kiuf;)  was  manifested  on  all 
occasions.  But  the  character  of  a  "  very  worthy  man,"  ascribed  to 
him  by  Van  Troil,  in  his  letters  on  Iceland,  will  comprise  the  enumera- 
tion of  his  virtues.  ,  i 

Of  his  particular  kindness  and  attention  to  h'w  countrymen,  w«! 
have  n  striking  proof  in  the  cope  of  liodynrd.  ^ 

u 


"i 


f  I' 

;V  ill 


,1' 


if 


I<  iV'  '■ 


m 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 

coarse  grass ;  the  whole  village  was  out  to  see  us,  and 
men,  women,  and  children  crowded  about  me.  I  was 
conducted  by  the  young  chief,  who  was  my  guide, 
and  seemed  proud  and  assiduous  to  serve  me,  into  one 
of  the  largest  huts.  I  was  surprised  at  the  behavior 
of  the  Indians,  for  though  they  were  curious  to  see 
me,  yet  they  did  not  express  that  extraordinary  curi- 
osity, that  would  be  expected  had  they  never  seen  an 
European  before,  and  1  was  glad  to  ])erceive  it,  as  it 
was  an  evidence  in  favor  of  what  1  wished  to  find 
true,  namely,  that  there  were  Europeans  now  among 
them.  The  women  of  the  house,  which  were  almost  the 
only  ones  I  had  seen  at  this  island,  were  mii<  li  more 
tolerable,  than  I  expected  to  find  them  ;  one,  in  par- 
ticular, seemed  very  busy  to  please  me  ;  to  her,  there- 
fore, I  made  several  presents,  with  which  she  was 
extremely  well  pleased.  As  it  was  now  dark,  my 
young  chief  intimated  to  me,  that  we  must  tarry 
where  we  were  that  night,  and  proceed  further  the 
next  day ;  to  which  I  very  readily  consented,  being 
much  fatigued.  Our  entertainment,  the  subsequent 
part  of  the  evening,  did  not  consist  of  delicacies  or 
much  variety ;  they  had  dried  fish,  and  i  had  bread 
and  spirits,  of  which  we  all  participated.  Ceremony 
was  not  invited  to  the  feast,  and  nature  presided  over 
the  entertainment. 

"  At  daylight  Perpheela  (which  wjisthe  name  of  the 
young  chief  that  was  my  guide)  let  nic  know  that  he 
was  ready  to  go  on ;  upon  which  I  flung  ofi'  the  skins 
I  had  slept  in,  put  on  my  shoes  and  outside  vest,  and 
arose  to  accompany  him,  repeating  my  presents  to  my 
friendly  hosts.     We  had  hitherto  travelled  in  a  north- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


88 


erly  direction,  but  now  went  to  the  westward  and 
southward.  I  was  now  so  much  relieved  from  the 
apprehension  of  any  insult  or  injury  from  the  Indians, 
that  my  journey  would  have  been  even  agreeable,  had  I 
not  been  taken  lame,  with  a  swelling  in  the  feet,  which 
rendered  it  extremely  painful  to  walk ;  the  country 
was  also  rough  and  hilly,  and  the  weather  wet  and 
cold.  About  three  hours  before  dark  we  came  to  a 
large  bay,  which  appeared  to  be  four  leagues  over. 
Here  my  guide,  Perpheela,  took  a  canoe  and  all  our 
baggage,  and  set  off,  seemingly  to  cross  the  bay.  He 
appeared  to  leave  me  in  an  abrupt  manner,  and  told 
me  tu  follow  the  two  attendants.  This  gave  me  some 
uneasiness.  1  now  followed  Perpheela's  two  attend- 
ants, keeping  the  bay  in  view,  but  we  had  not  gone 
above  six  miles  before  we  saw  a  canoe  approaching  us 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay,  in  which  were  two 
Indians ;  as  soon  as  my  guides  saw  the  canoe,  we  ran 
to  the  shore  from  the  hills  and  hailed  them,  and  find- 
ing they  did  not  hear  us,  we  got  some  bushes  and 
waved  them  in  the  air,  which  they  saw,  and  stood 
directly  for  us.  This  canoe  was  sent  by  Perpheela  to 
bring  me  across  the  bay,  and  shorten  the  distance  of 
the  journey. 

*^  It  was  beginning  to  be  dark  when  the  canoe  came 
to  us.  It  was  a  skin  canoe,  after  the  Esquimaux  plan* 
with  two  holes  to  accommodate  two  sitters.  The 
Indians  that  came  in  the  canoe  talked  a  little  with  my 
two  guides,  and  then  came  to  me  and  desired  I  would 
get  into  the  canoe.  This  I  did  not  very  readily  agree 
to,  however,  as  there  was  no  other  place  for  me  but  to 
be  thrust  into  the  space  between  the  holes,  extended 


f  i| 


•:  A 


84 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYAHD. 


at  length  upon  my  back,  and  wholly  excluded  from 
seeing  the  way  I  went,  or  the  power  of  extricating 
myself  upon  any  emergency.  But  as  there  was  no 
alternative,  I  submitted  thus  to  be  stowed  away  in 
bulk,  and  went  head  foremost  very  swift  through  the 
water  about  an  hour,  when  I  felt  the  canoe  strike  a 
beach,  and  afterwards  lifted  up  and  carried  some  dis- 
tance, and  then  set  down  again ;  after  which  I  was 
drawn  out  by  the  shoulders  by  three  or  four  men,  for 
it  was  now  so  dark  that  1  could  not  tell  who  they  were, 
thou,;h  I  was  qonscious  I  heard  a  language  that  was 
new.  I  was  conducted  by  two  of  these  persons,  who 
appeared  to  be  strang^j^rs,  about  forty  rcxls,  when  I  saw 
lights  and  a  number  of  huts  like  those  T  left  in  the 
morning.  As  we  approached  one  of  them,  a  door 
opened,  and  discovered  a  lamp,  by  which,  to  my  joy 
and  surprise,  I  discovered  that  the  two  men,  who  held 
me  by  each  arm,  were  Europeans,  fair  and  comely, 
and  concluded  from  their  appearance  they  were  Rus- 
sians, which  I  soon  after  found  to  be  true.  As  we 
entered  the  hut,  which  was  particularly  long,  I  saw, 
arranged  on  each  side,  on  a  platform  of  plank,  a 
number  of  Indians,  who  all  bowed  to  me ;  and  as  I 
advanced  to  the  farther  end  of  the  hut,  there  were 
other  Russians.  When  I  reached  the  end  of  the 
room,  I  was  seated  on  a  bench  covered  with  fur  skins, 
and  as  1  was  much  fatigued,  wet,  and  cold,  I  had  a 
change  of  garments  brought  me,  consisting  of  a  blue 
silk  shirt  and  drawers,  a  fur  cap,  boots,  and  gown,  all 
which  I  put  on  with  the  same  cheerfulness  they  were 
presented  with.  Hospitality  is  a  virtue  peculiar  to 
man,  and  the  obligation  is  as  great  to  receive  as  to 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


85 


confer.  As  soon  as  I  was  rendered  warm  and  com- 
fortable, a  table  was  set  before  me  with  a  lamp  upon 
it ;  all  the  Russians  in  the  house  sat  down  round  me, 
and  the  bottles  of  spirits,  tobacco,  snuff,  and  whatever 
Perpheela  had,  were  brought  and  set  upon  it ;  these  I 
presented  to  the  company,  intimating  that  they  were 
presents  from  Commodore  Cook,  who  was  an  Eng- 
lishman. One  of  the  company  then  gave  me  to 
understand,  that  all  the  white  people  I  saw  there  were 
subjects  of  the  Empress  Catherine  of  Russia,  and 
rose  and  kissed  my  hand,  the  rest  uncovering  their 
heads.  1  then  informed  them  as  well  as  I  could,  that 
Commodore  Cook  wanted  to  see  some  of  them,  and 
had  sent  me  there  to  conduct  them  to  our  ships. 

These  preliminaries  over,  we  had  supper,  which  con- 
sisted of  boiled  whale,  halibut  fried  in  oil,  and  broiled 
salmon.  The  latter  I  ate,  and  they  gave  me  rye-bread, 
but  would  eat  none  of  it  themselves.  They  were  very 
fond  of  the  rum,  which  they  drank  without  any  mixture 
or  measure.  I  had  a  very  comfortable  bed  composed 
of  difierent  fur  skins,  both  under  and  over  me,  and 
being  harassed  the  preceding  day,  1  went  soon  to  rest. 
After  I  had  lain  down,  the  Russians  assembled  the 
Indians  in  a  very  silent  manner,  and  said  prayers  after 
the  manner  of  the  Greek  church,  which  is  much 
like  the  Roman.  1  could  not  but  observe  with  what 
particular  satisfaction  the  Indians  performed  their  de- 
voirs to  God,  through  the  medium  of  their  little  cru- 
cifixes, and  with  what  pleasure  they  went  through  the 
multitude  of  ceremonies  attendant  on  that  sort  of 
worship,  i  think  it  a  religion  the  best  calculated  in 
the  world  to  gain  proselytes,  when  the  people  arc  cither 


86 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


■'>.■  n. 


unwilling  or  unable  to  speculate,  or  when  they  cannot 
be  made  acquainted  with  the  history  and  principles  of 
Christianity  without  a  formal  education. 

**  I  had  a  very  comfortable  night's  rest,  and  did  not 
wake  the  next  morning  until  late.  As  soon  as  I  was 
up,  I  was  conducted  to  a  hut  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  one  I  had  slept  in,  where  I  saw  a  number  of  plat- 
forms raised  about  three  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
covered  with  dry  coarse  grass  and  some  small  green 
bushes.  There  were  several  of  the  Russians  already 
here,  besides  those  that  conducted  me,  and  several 
Indians  who  were  heating  water  in  a  large  copper 
caldron  over  a  furnace,  the  heat  of  which,  and  the 
steam  which  evaporated  from  the  hot  water,  rendered 
the  hut,  which  was  very  tight,  extremely  hot  and  suf- 
focating. [  soon  understood  this  was  a  hot  bath,  of 
which  I  was  asked  to  make  use  in  a  friendly  manner. 
The  apparatus  being  a  little  curious,  I  consented  to  it, 
but  before  J  had  finished  undressing  myself,  I  was 
overcome  by  the  sudden  change  of  the  air,  fainted 
away,  and  fell  back  on  the  platform  I  was  sitting  on. 
I  was,  however,  soon  relieved  by  having  cold  and 
lukewarm  water  administered  to  my  face  and  different 
parts  of  my  body.  I  finished  undressing,  and  pro- 
ceeded as  I  saw  the  rest  do,  who  were  now  all  un- 
dressed. The  Indians,  who  served  us,  brought  us,  as 
we  set  or  extended  ourselves  on  the  platforms,  water 
of  different  temperatures,  from  that  which  was  as  hot 
as  we  could  bear,  to  quite  cold.  The  hot  water  was 
accompanied  with  some  hard  soap  and  a  flesh-brush ; 
it  was  not  however  thrown  on  the  body  from  the  dish, 
but  sprinkled  on  with  the  green  bushes.     After  this, 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


87 


the  water  made  use  of  was  less  warni)  and  by  several 
gradations  became  at  last  quite  cold,  which  concluded 
the  ceremony.  We  again  dressed  and  returned  to  our 
lodgings,  where  our  breakfast  was  smoking  on  the 
table  ;  but  the  flavor  of  our  feast,  as  well  as  its  appear- 
ance, had  nearly  produced  a  relap!^e  in  my  spirits,  and 
no  doubt  would,  if  I  had  not  had  recourse  to  some  of 
the  brandy  1  had  brought,  which  happily  saved  me. 
I  was  a  good  deal  uneasy,  lest  the  cause  of  my  dis- 
composure should  disoblige  my  friends,  who  meant  to 
treat  me  in  the  best  manner  they  could.  1  therefore 
attributed  my  illness  to  the  bath,  which  might  possibly 
have  partly  occasioned  it,  for  I  am  not  very  subject  to 
fainting.  I  could  eat  none  of  the  breakfast,  however, 
though  far  from  wanting  an  appetite.  It  was  mostly 
of  whale,  sea-horse,  and  bear,  which,  though  smoked, 
dried,  and  boiled,  produced  a  composition  of  smells 
very  offensive  at  nine  or  ten  in  the  morning.  I  there- 
fore desired  I  might  have  a  piece  of  smoked  salmon 
broiled  dry,  which  I  ate  with  some  of  my  own  biscuit. 
*'  After  breakfast  I  intended  to  set  off  on  my  return 
to  the  ships,  though  there  came  on  a  disagree  rble  snow 
storm.  But  my  new-found  friends  objected  to  it,  and 
gave  me  to  understand,  that  1  should  go  the  next  day, 
and,  if  1  chose,  three  of  them  would  accompany  me. 
This  1  immediately  agreed  to,  as  it  anticipated  a  favor 
I  intended  to  ask  them,  though  I  before  much  doubted 
whether  they  would  comply  with  it.  I  amused  my- 
self within  doors,  while  it  snowed  without,  by  writing 
down  a  few  words  of  the  original  languages  of  the 
American  Indians,  and  of  the  Asiatics,  who  came  over 
to  this  coast  with  these  Russians  from  Kamtschatka. 


88 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


*^  In  the  afternoon  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  I 
went  out  to  see  how  those  Russian  adventurers  were 
situated.  I  found  the  whole  village  to  contain  about 
thirty  huts,  all  of  which  were  built  partly  under 
ground,  and  covered  with  turf  at  the  bottom,  and 
coarse  grass  at  the  top.  The  only  circumstance  that 
can  recommend  them  is  their  warmth,  which  is  occa- 
sioned partly  by  their  manner  of  construction,  and 
partly  by  a  kind  of  oven,  in  which  they  constantly 
keep  a  fire  night  and  day.  They  sleep  on  platforms 
built  on  each  side  of  the  hut,  on  which  they  have  a 
number  of  bear  and  other  skins,  which  render  them 
comfortable ;  and  as  they  have  been  educated  in  a 
hardy  manner,  they  need  little  or  no  other  support, 
than  what  they  procure  from  the  sea  and  from  hunt- 
ing. The  number  of  Russians  were  about  thirty,  and 
they  had  with  them  about  seventy  Kamtsehadales,  or 
Indians  from  Kamtschatka.  These,  with  some  of  the 
American  Indians,  whom  they  had  entered  into  friend- 
ship with,  occupied  the  village,  enjoyed  every  benefit 
in  common  with  the  Russians,  and  were  converts  to 
their  religion.  Subh  other  of  the  aborigines  of  the 
island,  as  had  not  become  converts  to  their  sentiments 
in  religious  and  civil  matters,  were  excluded  from  such 
privileges,  and  were  prohibited  from  wearing  certain 
arms. 

I  also  found  a  small  sloop  of  about  thirty  tons  bur- 
then lying  in  a  cove  behind  the  village,  and  a  hut  near 
her,  containing  her  sails,  cordage,  and  other  sea  equip- 
age, and  one  old  iron  three  pounder.  It  is  natural  to 
an  ingenuous  mind,  when  it  enters  a  town,  a  house,  or 
ship,  that  has  been  rendered  famous  by  any  particular 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARI). 


89 


■^ 


event,  to  feel  the  full  force  of  that  pleasure,  which  re- 
sults from  gratifying  a  noble  curiosity.  I  was  no  sooner 
informed,  that  this  sloop  was  the  same  in  which  the 
famous  Bering  had  perlormed  those  discoveries,  which 
did  him  so  much  honor,  and  his  country  such  great 
ser>ice,  tiiaii  I  was  determined  to  go  on  board  of  her, 
and  indulge  the  generous  feelings  the  occasion  in- 
spired. I  intimated  my  wishes  to  the  man  that 
accompanied  me,  who  went  back  to  the  village,  and 
brought  a  canoe,  in  which  we  went  on  board,  where  I 
remained  about  an  hour,  and  then  returned.  This 
little  bark  belonged  to  Kamtschatka,  and  came  from 
thence  with  the  Asiatics  already  mentioned  to  this 
island,  which  they  call  Onalaska,  in  order  to  estab- 
lish a  pelt  and  fur  factory.  They  had  been  here 
about  five  years,  and  go  over  to  Kamtschatka  in  her 
once  a  year  to  deliver  their  merchandise,  and  get  a 
recruit  of  such  supplies  as  they  need  from  the  chief 
factory  there,  of  which  I  shall  take  further  notice 
hereafter. 

"  The  next  day  I  set  off  from  this  villajje,  well  satis- 
fied with  the  happy  issue  of  a  tour,  which  was  now 
as  agreeable  as  it  was  at  first  undesirable.  I  was  ac- 
companied by  three  of  the  principal  llussians,  and 
some  attendants.  We  embarked  at  the  village  in  a 
lar«'?  skin  boat,  much  like  our  large  whale-boats,  row- 
ing with  twelve  oars;  and  as  we  struck  directly  across 
the  bay,  we  shortened  our  distance  several  miles,  and 
the  next  day,  passing  the  same  village  1  had  before 
been  at,  we  arrived  by  sunset  at  the  bay  whert;  the 
ships  lay,  and  before  dark  I  got  on  board  w  ith  our  new 
acquaintances.     The  satisfaction  this  discovery  gave 


ii*' 


I.  :1 


90 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Cook,  and  the  honor  that  redounded  to  me,  may  be 
easily  imagined,  and  the  several  conjectures  respecting 
the  appearance  of  a  foreign  intercourse  were  rectified 
and  confirmed." 

Such  other  researches,  as  could  be  pursued  at  that 
season,  having  been  made  at  Onalaska,  and  along  the 
coast.  Cook  left  the  continent  and  shaped  his  course 
for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Two  months'  sailing 
brought  him  in  view  of  one  of  the  group,  not  discov- 
ered on  his  voyage  to  the  north,  called  by  the  natives 
Owhyhee,  or  Hawyhee,  as  Ledyard  writes  it,  or 
Hawaii,  according  to  the  modern  orthography  of  the 
missionaries.*  As  our  traveller  is  more  minute  in  his 
description  of  the  events  that  happened  at  this  island, 
and  particularly  in  his  account  of  the  death  of  Captain 
Cook,  than  most  narrators,  and  as  he  describes  only 
what  came  within  his  own  knowledge,  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  dwell  a  little  upon  these  topics. 


*  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  sound  expressed  by  Ledyard's  ortho- 
graphy, and  that  of  the  missionaries,  is  exactly  the  same,  he  preserving 
the  English  sounds  of  the  vowels,  and  they  adopting  the  Italian. 


■■! 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


91 


CH4PTER  V. 

The  ships  anchored  in  Kearakekua  bay. — First  interview  with  the  natives. — 
Reverence  with  which  they  regarded  Cook. — Tents  erected  for  astronomical 
observations. — Ceremonies  at  the  meeting  of  Cook  with  the  old  king. — 
Ledyard  forms  the  project  of  ascending  the  higli  mountain  in  Hawaii, 
called  by  the  natives  Mouna  Roa  — Description  of  his  ascent,  and  cause 
of  his  ultimate  failure. — The  natives  begin  to  show  symptoms  of  uneasi- 
aess  at  the  presence  of  the  strangers,  and  to  treat  them  with  disrespect. — 
Offended  at  the  encroachment  made  on  their  Morai. — Cook  departs 
from  Kearakekua  bay,  but  is  compelled  to  return  by  a  heavy  storm,  that 
overtakes  him,  and  injures  his  ships. — Natives  receive  him  coldly. — They 
steal  one  of  the  ship's  boats,  which  Cook  endeavors  to  recover. — Goes  on 
shore  for  the  purpose. — Is  there  attacked  by  the  natives  and'slain. — Ledyard 
accompanied  him  on  shore,  and  was  near  his  person  when  killed. — His  de- 
scription of  the  event. — Expedition  ssdls  for  Kamtschatka,  explores  again  the 
Polar  seas,  and  returns  to  England. — Ledyard's  opinions  respecting  the  first 
peopling  of  the  South  Sea  Islands. — Other  remarks  relating  to  this  subject, 
founded  on  the  analogy  of  languages,  and  manners  of  the  people. — Character- 
istics  of  Ledyard's  journal. — Estimation  in  wliich  he  held  Captain  Cook. 

The  ships  were  several  days  among  the  islands, 
sailing  in  different  directions,  before  a  harbor  was  dis- 
covered, in  which  they  could  anchor  with  safety,  and 
where  water  and  provisions  could  be  procured.  At 
length  they  entered  a  commodious  bay  on  the  south 
side  of  Hawaii,  extending  inland  about  two  miles 
and  a  half,  having  the  town  of  Kearakekua  on  one 
side,  and  Kiverua  on  the  other.  These  towns  con- 
tained fourteen  hundred  houses.  The  crowds  of 
people  that  flocked  to  the  shore,  as  the  vessels  sailed 
in  and  came  to  anchor,  were  prodigious.  They  had 
assembled  from  the  interior  and  the  coast.  Three 
thousand  canoes  were  counted  in  the  bay,  filled  with 
men,  women,  aud  children,  to  the  number  of  at  least 


m\ 


'\. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 

fifteen  thousand,  besides  others  tliat  were  swimming 
and  sustaining  themselves  on  floats  in  the  water.  The 
scene  was  animated  and  gro|es(|ue  in  the  extreme. 
"  Tile  Iteach,  tiie  surrounding  rocivs,  tlie  tops  of 
houses,  the  branches  of  tree>,  and  the  adjacent  iiills 
were  all  covered  ;  and  tiie  shouts  of  joj  and  admiration, 
proceeding  from  the  sonorous  voices  of  the  men,  con- 
fused with  the  shriller  exclamL< tions  of  the  women 
dancing  and  clapping  their  hands,  the  oversetting  of 
canoes,  cries  of  the  children,  goods  afloat,  and  hogs 
that  were  brought  to  market  squealing,  formed  one  of 
the  most  curious  prospects,  that  can  be  imagined." 
But  amidst  this  immense  concourse,  all  was  peace, 
harmony,  hilarity,  and  good  nature.  Many  of  the 
natives  were  contented  to  guze  and  wonder ;  others,  by 
their  noise  and  actions,  gave  more  imposing  demon- 
strations of  their  joy  and  admiration ;  while  others 
were  busy  in  bartering  anay  hogs,  sweet  potatoes, 
and  such  provisions  as  they  had,  for  articles  that 
pleased  their  fancy. 

Cook's  first  visit  to  the  shore  was  attended  with  a 
good  deal  of  ceremony.  Two  chiefs,  with  long  white 
poles  as  ensigns  of  their  authority,  made  a  passage 
among  the  canoes  for  his  piimace,  and  the  people, 
as  he  was  rowed  along,  covered  their  faces  with  their 
hands.  When  he  landed,  they  fell  prostrate  <  n  the 
beach  before  him,  and  a  new  set  of  officers  opened  a 
way  for  him  through  the  crowd.  The  same  expres- 
sions of  awe  were  manifested,  as  he  proceeded  from 
the  water's  edge.  "  The  people  upon  the  adjacent 
hills,  upon  the  houses,  on  the  stone  walls,  and  in  the 
tops  of  the  trees,  also  hid  their  faces,  while  he  passed 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


93 


along  the  opening,  but  he  had  no  sooner  past  them, 
than  they  rose  and  followed  him.  But  if  Cooli  hap- 
pened to  turn  his  head,  or  look  behind  him,  they  were 
down  again  in  an  instant,  and  up  again  as  soon,  when- 
ever his  face  was  reverted  to  some  other  quarter. 
This  punctilious  performance  of  respect  in  so  v;»st  a 
throng,  being  regulated  solely  by  the  accidental  turn 
of  one  man's  head,  and  the  transition  being  sudden 
and  short,  ren»'ered  it  very  difficult  even  for  an  indivi- 
dual to  be  in  proper  attitude.  If  he  lay  prostrate  but 
a  second  too  long,  he  was  |)retty  sure  not  to  rise  again 
until  he  had  been  trampled  upon  by  all  behind  him, 
and  if  he  dared  not  to  prostrate  himself,  he  would 
stumble  over  those  before  him  who  did.  This  pro- 
duced a  great  many  laughable  circumstances,  and  as 
Cook  walked  very  fast  to  get  from  the  sand  into 
the  shades  of  the  town,  it  rendered  the  matter  still 
more  difficult.  At  length,  however,  they  ado))ted  a 
a  medium,  that  much  better  answered  a  running  com- 
pliment, and  did  not  displease  the  chiefs ;  this  was  to 
go  upon  all  fours,  which  was  truly  ludicrous  among  at 
least  ien  thousand  people.''  This  confusion  ceased, 
however,  before  long,  for  Cook  was  conducted  to  the 
Morai,  a  sacred  enclosure,  which  none  but  the  chiefs 
and  their  attendants  were  allowed  to  enter.  Here  he 
was  unmolested,  and  the  presents  were  distributed. 

His  first  object  was  to  procure  a  situation  on  shore 
to  erect  tents,  and  fit  up  the  astronomical  instruments. 
A  suitable  spot  was  granted,  on  condition  that  none  of 
the  seamen  should  leave  the  |)lace  after  sunset,  and 
with  a  stipulation  on  the  part  of  the  chiefs,  that  none 
of  their  people  should  enter  it  by  night.     To  make 


'r  u 


dk 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


this  elTectual,  the  ground  was  marked  out  by  white 
rods,  and  put  under  tiie  restriction  of  the  labti^  which 
no  native  dared  viohite,  beina^  restrained  by  the  super- 
stitious tear  of  oifending  the  atuas,  or  invisible  spirits 
of  the  island.  This  caution  surprised  Cook  a  little, 
as  he  had  not  witnessed  it  among  the  natives  of  the 
other  South  Sea  Islands.  It  appeared  reasonable,  and 
he  cjusented  to  it,  not  fore.*.eeing  the  mischiefs  to 
which  it  would  ultimately  lead.  Lcdyard  considers  it 
the  origin  of  all  the  disasters  that  followed.  Restric- 
tions were  imposed,  which  could  not  be  enforced ; 
they  were  violated  secretly  at  rtrst,  then  with  less  re- 
serve, and  at  last  openly.  The  men  in  the  tents  were 
the  first  to  transgress,  by  going  abroad  contrary  to  the 
agreement.  The  native  women  were  tempted  by 
them  to  pass  over  the  prescribed  limits,  although  they 
shuddered  at  the  apprehension  of  the  cousequences, 
which  might  follow  such  a  disregard  ol  the  tabu. 
When  they  found,  however,  that  no  harm  came  upon 
them  from  the  enraged  atuasy  their  fears  by  degrees 
subsided.  This  intercourse  was  not  such,  as  to  raise 
the  Europeans  in  the  estimation  of  the  islanders.  It 
was  begun  by  stealth,  and  prosecuted  in  violation  of 
the  sacred  injunction  of  the  tabu,  and  as  no  measures 
were  taken  to  prevent  it,  the  chiefs  naturally  consid- 
ered it  an  infraction  of  the  agreement.  Ledyard  was 
himself  stationed  on  shore  with  a  guard  of  marines  to 
protect  the  tents,  and  enjoyed  the  best  opportunity  for 
seinnt;  and  knowing  what  passed  in  that  quarter. 

Harmony,  and  a  good  understanding  among  all 
parties,  prevailed  for  several  days.  Cook  went 
through  the  ceremony  of  being  anointed  with  cocoa- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED  YARD. 


95 


nut  oil  by  one  of  the  chief  priests,  and  of  listening  to 
a  speech  half  an  hour  in  length,  on  the  occasion, 
from  the  same  high  dignitary.  When  Teraiobu,  the 
king,  a  feeble  old  man.  returned  from  one  of  tlie  other 
islands,  where  he  had  been  on  a  visit,  there  was  another 
ceremony,  conducted  with  great  form,  at  his  meeting 
with  Cook.  Entertainments  succeeded,  and  good 
cheer  and  good  humor  w  ere  seen  everywhere.  Cook 
first  invited  Teraiobu  and  his  chiefs  on  board  to  dinner. 
They  were  temperate,  drinking  water  only,  and  eating 
but  little.  The  old  king  satisfied  himself  entirely 
with  bread-fruit  and  water,  but  the  younger  chiefs 
comprised  in  their  repast  the  luxury  of  pork  and  fow  Is. 
They  all  went  away  ^^  ell  pleased,  and  the  king  invited 
Cook  to  dine  with  him  the  next  day  at  his  royal  resi- 
dence. The  invitation  was  accepted  ;  and  when  the 
hour  came,  the  navigator  and  his  officers  were  sump- 
tuously feasted  on  baked  hog  and  potatoes,  neatly 
spread  out  on  green  plantain  leaves,  and  for  beverage 
they  were  supplied  with  cocoanut  milk.  The  day 
was  closed  with  gymnastic  exercises,  wrestling  and 
boxing,  ordered  by  the  old  king  for  the  amusement  of 
his  guests.  On  the  next  evening  Cook  in  'lis  turn 
exhibited  fireworks  on  shore,  much  to  the  amazement 
of  the  beholders,  who  had  never  before  seen  such  a 
display.  Many  laughable  incidents  occurred.  When 
the  first  sky-rocket  was  discharged,  the  multitude  was 
seized  with  the  greatest  consternation.  Cook  and  his 
olllicers  '*  could  hardly  hold  the  old  feeble  Teraiobu, 
and  some  elderlv  ladies  of  quality  that  sat  among 
them ;  and  before  they  had  recovered  from  this  parox- 
ysm, nearly  the  wliole  host,  that  u  moment  before 


96 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


surrounded  them,  had  fled."  Some  were  too  much 
frightened  to  return  any  more,  but  others  came  back 
as  their  fears  abated,  and  had  the  courage  to  keep 
their  ground  through  the  remainder  of  the  exhibition. 

Thus  all  things  were  proceeding,  as  Ledyard  ex- 
presses it,  "  in  the  old  Otaheite  style  ;  "  the  visiters 
and  the  islanders  were  mutually  pleased  with  each 
other,  kind  offices  were  reciprocated,  abundant  stores 
of  provisions  were  carried  on  board,  and  prospects 
were  favorable. 

While  affairs  were  in  this  train,  Ledyard  formed  the 
desia;u  of  ascending  the  high  peak,  which  rises  from 
the  centre  of  the  island,  and  is  called  by  the  natives 
Mouna  Roa.  Although  this  mountain  stands  on  an 
island  only  ninety  miles  in  diameter,  yet  it  is  one  of 
the  highest  in  the  world.  Its  elevation  has  been  esti- 
mated to  be  about  eighteen  thousand  feet,  and  its 
summit  is  usually  covered  with  snow.  From  his  sta- 
tion dt  the  tents,  Ledyard  sent  a  note  on  board  the 
Resolution  to  Captain  Cook,  asking  permission  to 
make  this  jaunt,  for  the  double  purpose  of  exploring 
the  interior,  and,  if  possible,  climbing  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain.  The  request  was  granted.  The  botanist, 
and  the  gunner  of  the  Resolution,  were  deputed  by 
the  connnan«ler  to  accompany  him.  Natives  were 
also  engagc'd  to  carry  the  baggage,  and  serve  as  guides 
through  the  woods.  A  tropical  sun  was  then  pouring 
its  rays  on  them  at  the  bay  of  Kearakekua,  but  the 
snows  visible  on  the  peak  of  Mouna  Roa  warned 
them  to  provide  additional  clothing,  and  guard  against 
the  effects  of  a  sudden  transition  from  heat  to  cold. 
The  puity  at  length  set  oif.    On  Arst  leaving  the  town 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


97 


their  route  lay  through  enclosed  plantations  of  sweet 
potatoes,  with  a  soil  of  lava,  tilled  in  some  places  with 
dilBculty.  Now  and  then  a  patch  of  sugar-cane  was 
seen  in  a  moist  place.  Next  came  the  open  planta- 
tions, consisting  chiefly  of  bread  fruit  trees,  and  the 
land  began  to  ascend  more  abruptly. 

"  We  continued  up  the  ascent,"  he  writes,  **  to  the 
distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  further,  and  found  the  land 
thick  covered  with  wild  fern,  among  which  our  botanist 
found  a  new  species.  It  was  now  near  sunset,  and 
being  upon  the  skirts  of  these  woods,  that  so  remark- 
ably surrounded  this  island  at  a  uniform  distance  of 
four  oMf  Ave  miles  from  the  shore,  we  concluded  to 
halt,  especially  as  there  was  a  hut  hard  by,  iSat  would 
afford  us  a  better  retreat  during  the  night,  than  what 
we  might  expect  if  we  proceeded.  When  we  reached 
the  hut,  we  found  it  inhabited  by  an  elderly  man,  his 
wife,  and  daughter,  the  emblem  of  innocent,  unin- 
structed  beauty.  They  were  somewhat  discomposed 
at  our  appearance  and  equipment,  and  would  have  left 
their  house  through  fear,  had  not  the  Indians,  who 
accompanied  us,  persuaded  them  otherwise,  and  at 
last  reconciled  them  to  us.  We  sat  down  together 
before  the  door,  and  from  the  height  of  the  situation 
we  had  a  complete  retrospective  view  of  our  route,  of 
the  town,  of  part  or  the  bay,  and  one  of  our  ships, 
besides  an  extensive  prospect  on  the  oi'ean,  and  a  dis- 
tant view  of  three  of  the  neighboring  islands. 

**  As  we  had  proposed  remaining  at  this  hut  through 
the  night,  and  were  willing  to  preserve  what  provi- 
sions we  had  ready  dressed,  wc  purchased  a  little  pig, 
and  had  him  dressed  by  our  host,  who,  Aading  his  ac- 
id 


98 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


M 


^^^^ 


count  in  his  visitants,  bestirred  himself  and  soon  had 
it  ready.     After  supper  we  had  some  of  our  brandy 
diluted  with  the  mountain  water,  and  we  had  so  long 
been  confined  to  tlic  poor  brackish  water  at  the  bay 
below,  that  it  was  a  kind  of  nectar  to  us.     As  soon 
as  the  sun  was  set,  we  found  a  considerable  difference 
in  the  state  of  the  air.     At  night  a  heavy  dew  fell, 
and  we  felt  it  very  chilly,  and  had  recourse  to  our 
blankets,  notwithstanding  we  were  in  the  hut.     The 
next  morning,  when»vve  came  to  enter  the  woods,  we 
found  there  had.  been  a  heavy  rain,  though  none  of  it 
had  approached  us,  notwithstanding  we  were  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  the  skirts  of  the  forest.     And  it 
seemed  to  be  a  matter  of  fact,  both  from  the  informa- 
tion of  the  natives  and   our   own  observations,  that 
neither  the  rains  nor  the  dews  descended  lower  than 
where  the  woods  terminated,  unless  at  the  equinoxes 
or  some  periodical  conjuncture,  by  which  means  the 
space  between  the  woods  and  the  shore  is  rendered 
warm,  and  fit  for  the  purposes  of  culture,  and  the 
vegetation  of   tropical  productions.      We   traversed 
these  woods  by  a  compass,  keeping  a  direct  course  for 
the  peak,  and  was  so  happy  the  first  day  as  to  find  a 
footpath  that  tended  nearly  our  due  course,  by  which 
means  we  travelled  by  estimation  about  fifteen  miles, 
and  though  it  would  have  been  no  extraordinary  march, 
had  circumstances  been  different,  yet,  as  we  found 
them,  we  thought  it  a  very  great  one ;  for  it  was  not  only 
excessively  miry  and  rough,  but  the  way  was  mostly  an 
ascent,  and  we  had  been  unused  to  walking,  and  espe- 
cially to  carrying  such  loads  as  we  had.     Our  Indian 
companions  werv  much  more  fatigued  than  we  were, 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


though  they  had  nothing  to  carry,  and,  what  displeased 
us  very  much,  would  not  carry  anything.    Our  botanical 
researches  delayed  us  somewhat.     The  sun  had  not 
set  when  we  halted,  yet  meeting  with  a  situation  that 
pleased  us,  and  not  being  limited  as  to  time,  we  spent 
the  remaining  part  of  the  day  as  humor  dictated,  some 
in  botanizing,  and  those  who  had  fowling-pieces  with 
them,  in  shooting.     For  my  part  I  could  not  but  think 
the  present  appearance  of  our  encampment  claimed  a 
part  of  our  attention,  and  tliere#)re  set  about  some 
alterations  and  amendments.     It  was  the  trunk  of  a 
tree,  that  had  fallen  by  the  side  of  the  path,  and  lay 
with  one  end  transversely  over  another  tree,  that  had 
fallen  before  in  an  opposite  direction,  and  as  it  mea- 
sured twentytwo  feet  in  circumference,  and  lay  four 
feet  from  the  ground,  it  afforded   very  good   shelter 
except  at  the  sides,  which  defect  I  supplied  by  large 
pieces  of  bark,  and  a  good  quantity  of  boughs,  which 
rendered  it  very  commodious.     We  slept  through  the 
night  under  it  much  better  than  we  had  done  the  pre- 
ceding, notwithstanding  there  was  a  heavy  dew,  and 
the  air  cold. 

"The  next  morning  wo  set  out  in  good  spirits, 
hoping  that  day  to  reach  the  snowy  peak ;  but  we 
had  not  gone  a  mile,  before  the  path,  that  had 
hitherto  so  much  facilitated  our  progress,  began  not 
only  to  take  a  direction  southward  of  west,  but  had 
been  so  little  frequented  as  to  be  almost  effaced.  In 
this  situation  we  consulted  our  Indian  convoy,  but  to 
no  purpose.  Wc  then  advised  among  ourselves,  and 
at  length  concluded  to  proceed  by  the  nearest  route 
without  any  beaten  track,  and  v\H;iit  in  this  manner 


*''..l 


t^ 


100 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


about  four  miles  further,  fiiidin;s;  the  way  even  more 
steep  and  rough,  than  we  had  yet  ex{jerieni-ed,  but 
above  all  impeded  by  such  impenetrable  thickets,  as 
rendered  it  impossible  for  us  to  proceed  any  further. 
We  tlierel'ore  abandoned  our  design,  and  returning  in 
our  own  track,  reached  the  retreat  we  had  improved  the 
last  night,  having  been  the  whole  day  in  walking  only 
about  ten  miles,  and  we  had  been  very  assiduous  too. 
We  found  the  country  here,  as  well  as  at  the  seashore, 
universally  overspreM  with  lava,  and  also  saw  several 
subterranean  exc^avations,  thut  had  every  appearance  of 
past  eruption  and  lire.  Our  botanist  to  day  met  with 
great  success,  and  we  had  also  shot  a  number  of  fine 
birds  of  the  liveliest  and  most  variegated  plumage, 
that  any  of  us  had  ever  met  with,  but  we  heard  no 
melody  among  them.  Except  these  we  saw  no  other 
kind  of  birds  but  the  si'reechowl ;  neither  did  we  see 
any  kind  of  quadrujted,  but  we  caught  several  curious 
insects.  The  woods  here  are  thick  and  luxuriant,  the 
largest  trees  being  nearly  thirty  feet  in  the  girth,  and 
these  with  the  shrubbery  underneath,  and  the  whole 
intersected  with  vines,  render  it  very  umbrageous. 

"  The  next  day,  about  two  in  the  afternoon,  we 
cleared  the  woods  by  our  old  route,  and  by  six  o'clock 
reached  the  tents,  having  penetrated  almut  twentyfour 
miles,  and,  we  supposed,  within  eleven  of  the  peak. 
Our  Indians  were  extremely  fatigued,  though  ^hey  had 
no  baggage."  * 


*  This  mountain  was  never  ascended  to  the  top,  till  very  recent* 
ly.  Mr  Goodrich,  one  of  the  American  Mif»ionari<)8  on  the  island, 
was  the  first  person,  who  persevered  in  reaching  the  summit  Ho 
ascended  on  a  side  of  the  mountain  nearly  opposite  to  that,  where 
Ledyard  made  the  attempt 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


101 


Were  we  to  follow  the  author  closely  in  his  narra- 
tive, we  should  here  introduce  his  description  of  the 
island  of  Hawaii,  and  of  the  various  objects  that  at- 
tracted his  notice.  He  speaks  of  the  geological  struc- 
ture of  the  island,  its  soil,  productions,  climate,  and 
animals;  the  customs  of  the  natives,  their  supersti- 
tions, government,  and  criminal  olfent  es ;  their  way 
of  living,  and  the  remarkable  dillerences  between 
them  and  the  other  islanders  of  the  South  Sea.  On 
some  of  these  topics  his  remarks  are  original  and 
striking,  but  we  must  pass  over  them,  and  hasten  to 
particulars  of  higher  interest. 

Before  two  weeks  1^  expired,  the  natives  began  to 
show  symptoms  of  uneasiness  at  the  presence  of  the 
foreigners,  and  to  treat  them  with  diminished  respect. 
In  truth,  very  little  pains  were  taken  to  preserve 
their  good  opinion,  or  to  keep  alive  their  kind  feelings; 
and  one  untoward  event  after  antither  was  perpetually 
occurring  to  lessen  the  admiration,  which  novelty  had 
excited,  and  to  alienate  them  from  their  newly  made 
friends.  Ledyard  mentions  several  incidents  of  this 
description,  which  are  not  alluded  to  in  the  authorized 
account  of  Cook's  last  voyage.  Some  of  them, 
probably,  were  not  known  to  the  writer,  and  others 
were  omitted  from  piotives  of  policy,  as  being  rather 
evidences  of  neglect  or  injudicious  management,  than 
of  cautious  or  discreet  measures.  The  natives  first 
began  to  practise  slight  insults,  which  seemed  to  pro- 
ceed rather  from  a  mischievous,  than  a  malignant 
temper.  The  master's  mate  was  ordered  to  take  on 
board  the  rudder  of  the  Resolution,  which  had  been 
sent  ashore  for  repairs.     It  was  too  heavy  for  his  men 


w 


'4k 


It 


111; 
■I 


1; 

1 

1 

j  jB 

1 

1 

1 

ill 

1 

I*  PI  J 

SI 


102 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


to  remove,  and  he  asked  the  natives  to  assist  them. 
Fifty  or  sixty  immediately  caught  hold  of  the  rope 
attached  to  the  rudder,  and  began  to  pull.  But 
whether  in  sport,  or  by  design,  they  caused  only  em- 
barrassment and  disorder.  "This  exasperated  the 
mate,  and  he  struck  two  or  three  of  them,  which  being 
observed  by  a  chief  that  was  present,  he  interposed. 
The  mate  haughtily  told  the  chief  to  order  his  people 
to  assist  him,  and  the  chief  as  well  as  the  people  hav- 
ing no  intention,  but  of  showing  their  disregard  and 
scorn,  which  had  long  been  growing  towards  us, 
laughed  at  him,  hooted  him,  and  threw  stones  at  him 
and  the  crew,  who  taking  up  ^me  trunnels  that  were 
lying  by,  fell  upon  the  Indians,  beat  many  of  them 
much,  and  drove  the  rest  several  rods^  back  ;  but  the 
crowd  collecting  at  a  little  distance,  formed,  and  began 
to  use  abusive  language,  challenge  our  people  and 
throw  stones,  some  of  which  came  into  our  encamp- 
ment." Ledyard's  guard  of  marines  was  ordered  out, 
"  at  least  to  make  a  show  of  resentment,"  and  the 
commanding  officer  at  the  tents  went  out  himself  to 
quell  the  disturbance  ;  but  they  were  all  pelted  with 
stones,  and  retired,  leaving  the  field  to  the  natives  till 
night,  when  the  rudder  was  taken  on  board. 

"  Instances  of  this  kind,  though  of  less  apparent 
importance,  had  happened  several  times  before  this  on 
shore  ;  but  on  board  hardly  a  day  passed  after  the  first 
week,  that  did  not  produce  some  petty  disturbance  in 
one  or  both  of  the  ships,  and  they  chiefly  proceeded 
from  thefts  perpetrated  by  the  natives  in  a  manner 
little  short  of  robbery.  Cook  and  Teraiobu  were  fully 
employed  in  adjusting  and  compromising  thesq  differ- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


103 


ences,  and  as  there  was  really  a  reciprocal  disinterested 
regard  between  him  and  this  good  old  man,  it  tended 
much  to  facilitate  these  amicable  negotiations.  But 
in  the  midst  of  these  measures,  Cook  was  insensible 
of  the  daily  decline  of  his  greatness  and  importance 
in  the  estimation  of  the  natives  ;  nay,  so  confident  was 
he,  and  so  secure  in  the  opposite  opinion,  that  on  the 
fourth  of  February  he  came  to  Kearakekua,  with  his 
boats,  to  purchase  and  carry  off  the  fence  round  the 
Morai,  which  he  wanted  to  wood  the  ships  with. 
When  he  landed,  he  sent  for  the  Priest  Kikinny,  and 
some  other  chiefs,  ^uid  offered  them  two  iron  hatchets 
for  the  fence.  The  chiefs  were  astonished,  not  only  at 
the  inadequate  price,  but  at  the  proposal,  and  refused 
him. 

"  Cook  was  as  much  chagrined  as  they  were  sur- 
prised, and,  not  meeting  with  the  easy  acquiescence 
he  expected  to  his  requisitions,  gave  immediate  orders 
to  his  people  to  ascend  the  Morai,  break  down  the 
fence  and  load  the  boats  with  it,  leading  the  way  him- 
self to  enforce  his  orders.  The  poor  dismayed  chiefs, 
dreading  his  displeasure,  which  they  saw  approaching, 
followed  him  upon  the  Morai  to  behold  the  fence  that 
enclosed  the  mansions  of  their  noble  ancestors,  and 
the  images  of  their  gods,  torn  to  pieces  by  a  handful 
of  rude  strangers,  without  the  power,  or  at  least 
without  the  resolution,  of  opposing  their  sacrilegious 
depredations.  When  Cook  had  ascended  the  Morai, 
he  once  more  offered  the  hatchets  to  the  chiefs.  It 
was  a  very  unequal  price,  if  the  honest  chiefs  would 
have  accepted  of  the  bribe ;  and  Cook  offered  it  only 
to  evade  the  imputation  of  taking  their  property  with- 


104 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


out  payment.  The  chiefs  again  refused  it.  Cook 
then  added  another  hatchet,  and,  kindling  into  resent- 
ment, told  them  to  take  it  or  nothing.  Kikinny,  to 
whom  the  offer  was  made,  turned  pale,  and  trembh^d 
as  he  stood,  but  still  refused.  Cook  thrust  them  into 
his  garment,  that  was  folded  round  him,  and  left  him 
immediately  to  hasten  the  execution  of  his  orders. 
As  for  Kikinny,  he  turned  to  some  of  his  menials,  and 
made  them  take  the  hatchets  out  of  his  garment,  not 
touching  them  himself.  By  this  time  a  considerable 
concourse  of  the  natives  had  assembled  under  the 
walls  of  the  Morai,  where  we  were  throwing  the  wood 
down,  and  were  very  outra<^eous,  and  even  threw  the 
wood  and  images  back  as  we  threw  them  down ;  and 
I  cannot  think  what  prevented  them  from  proceeding 
to  greater  lengths  ;  however,  it  so  happened  that  we 
got  the  whole  into  the  boats,  and  safely  on  board.'' 

This  story  is  told  differently  by  Captain  King,  who 
wrote  that  part  of  Cook's  Third  Voyage,  which  relates 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  As  he  represents  it,  no  ob- 
jection was  made  to  the  proposal  for  taking  away  the 
enclosure  of  wood,  that  surrounded  the  Moral,  and  even 
the  images  were  tumbled  down  and  carried  off,  under 
the  eyes  of  the  priests,  without  any  resistance  or  dis- 
approbation on  their  part.  This  would  seem  improba- 
ble. The  Morai  was  the  depositary  of  the  dead,  a 
place  where  the  images  of  the  gods  were  kept,  and 
solemn  ceremonies  performed.  It  is  not  easy  to  re- 
concile the  two  accounts,  but  Ledyard  was  employed 
with  others  in  removing  the  fence,  and  he  manifestly 
describes  what  he  saw.  He  may  not  have  been  so 
well  acquainted  with  the  manner  and  conditions  of 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


105 


the  purrhise,  as  Captain  Kinij,  yet  in  the  detail  of 
occurrences  in  which  lie  was  engaged,  and  their 
effects  on  the  peoplt  around  liim,  it  is  hardly  possible 
that  he  should  have  been  mistaken.    Again,  he  writes, 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  hlth  we  struck  our  tents, 
and  everything  was  taken  on  board,  and  it  was  mani- 
festly much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  natives.  A 
little  after  dark  an  old  house,  that  stood  on  a  corner 
of  the  Moral,  took  fire  and  burnt  down  ;  this  we  sup- 
posed was  occasioned  by  our  people's 'carelessly  leav- 
ing their  fire  near  it,  but  this  was  not  the  case.  The 
natives  burnt  it  themselves,  to  show  us  the  resentment 
they  entertained  towards  us,  on  account  of  our  using 
it  without  their  consent,  and  indeed  manifestly  against 
it.  We  had  made  a  sail-loft  of  one  part  of  it,  and  an 
hospital  for  our  sick  of  the  other,  though  it  evidently 
was  esteemed  by  the  natives  as  holy  as  the  rest  of  the 
Morai,  and  ought  to  have  been  considered  so  by  us." 

They  had  now  been  nineteen  days  in  Kearakekua 
bay ;  the  ships  had  been  repaired,  the  seamen  re- 
cruited after  their  long  toils,  provisions  for  several 
months  laid  in,  and  nothing  more  was  wanting  to  ena- 
ble them  to  go  again  to  sea,  but  a  supply  of  water. 
This  was  not  to  be  had  at  Kearakekua,  except  of  a 
brackish  quality,  and  it  was  resolved  to  search  for  it 
on  some  of  the  other  islands.  For  this  object  the 
vessels  were  unmoored,  and  sailed  out  of  the  har- 
bor. No  sooner  had  they  got  to  sea,  than  a  violent 
gale  came  on,  which  lasted  three  days  and  injured  so 
seriously  the  Resolution's  foremast,  that  Cook  was 
compelled  to  return  speedily  to  his  old  anchorage 
ground  and  make  repairs.  Our  voyager  is  so  circuni- 
14 


'M 


H  iir 


I 

HI 


! 


I' 


H 


106 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARt). 


stantial  in  his  account  from  this  point,  till  the  tragical 
death  of  Captain  Cook,  that  I  shall  not  mur  his  narra- 
tive by  curtailing  it.  The  only  thing  necessary  to  be 
premised  is,  that  he  was  one  of  the  small  party,  who 
landed  with  the  unfortunate  navigator  on  the  morning 
of  his  death,  and  was  near  him  during  the  fatal  con- 
test, although  this  docs  not  appear  from  his  own  state- 
ment. 

'*  Our  return  lo  this  bay  was  as  disagreeable  to  us, 
as  it  was  to  the  inhabitants,  for  we  were  reciprocally 
tired  of  each  other.  They  had  been  oppressed,  and 
were  weary  of  our  prostituted  alliance,  and  we  were 
aggrieved  by  the  consideration  of  wanting  the  provi- 
sions and  refreshments  of  the  country,  which  we  had 
every  reason  to  suppose,  from  their  behavior  antece- 
dent to  our  de])arture,  would  now  be  withheld  from  us, 
or  brought  in  such  small  quantities  as  to  be  worse  than 
none.  What  we  anticipated  was  true.  When  we  en- 
tered the  bay,  where  before  we  had  the  shouts  of  thou- 
sands to  welcome  our  arrival,  we  had  the  mortification 
not  to  see  a  single  canoe,  and  hardly  any  inhabitants 
in  the  towns.  Cook  was  chagrined,  and  his  peo|)le 
were  soured.  Towards  night,  however,  the  canoes 
came  in,  uut  the  provisions  both  in  quantity  and  quali- 
ty plainly  informed  us,  that  times  were  altered  ;  and 
what  was  very  remarkable  was  the  exorbitant  price 
they  asked,  and  the  particular  fancy  they  all  at  once 
took  to  iron  daggers  or  dirks,  which  were  the  only  arti- 
cles that  were  any  ways  current,  with  the  chiefs  at 
least.  It  was  also  equally  evident  from  the  looks  of 
the  natives,  as  well  as  every  other  appearance,  that 
our  former  friendship  was  at  an  end,  and  that  wc  Jiad 


UFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


107 


nothinjr  to  do  but  to  ha,sten  our  departure  to  some  dif- 
ferent island,  where  our  vices  were  not  known,  and 
where  our  extrinsic  virtues  might  gain  us  another 
short  space  of  being  wondered  at,  and  doing  as  we 
pleased,  or,  as  our  tars  expressed  it,  of  being  happy 
hy  the  month. 

*'  Nor  was  their  passive  appearance  of  disgust  all 
we  had  to  fear,  nor  did  it  continue  long.  Before  dark 
a  canoe  with  a  number  of  armed  chiefs  came  along- 
side of  us  without  provisions,  and  indeed  without  any 
perceptible  design.  After  sta^'ing  a  short  time  only, 
they  went  to  the  Discovery,  where  a  part  of  them 
went  on  board.  Here  they  aflfected  great  friendship, 
and  unfortunately  overacting  it,  Gierke  was  suspi- 
cious, and  ordered  two  sentinels  on  the  gangways. 
These  men  were  purposely  sent  by  the  chief,  who 
had  formerly  been  so  very  intimate  with  Gierke,  and 
afterwards  so  ill  treated  by  him,  with  the  charge 
of  stealing  his  jolly-boat.  They  came  with  a  deter- 
mination of  mischief,  and  effected  it.  After  they 
were  all  returned  to  the  canoe  but  one,  they  got  their 
paddles  and  everything  ready  for  a  start.  Those  in 
the  canoes,  observing  the  sentry  to  be  watchful,  took 
off  his  attention  by  some  conversation,  that  they  knew 
would  be  pleasing  to  him,  and  by  this  means  favored 
the  designs  of  the  man  on  board,  who  watching  ills 
opportunity  snatched  two  pairs  of  tongs,  and  other  iron 
tools  that  then  lay  close  by  the  armorers  at  work  at 
the  forge,  and  mounting  the  gangway-rail,  with  ono 
leap  threw  himself  and  his  goods  into  the  canoe,  that 
was  then  upon  the  move,  and,  taking  up  his  p  iddle 
joined  the  others ;  and  standing  directly  for  the  shore, 


108 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


they  were  out  of  our  reacli  almost  instantaneously, 
even  before  a  musket  could  be  had  from  the  arms- 
chest  to  fire  at  them.  The  sentries  had  only  hangers. 
This  was  the  boldest  exploit  that  had  yet  been  at- 
tempted, and  had  a  bad  aspect.  Gierke  immediately 
sent  to  the  commodore,  who  advised  him  to  send  a  boat 
on  shore  to  endeavor  at  least  to  legain  the  goods,  if 
they  could  not  the  men  vn  ho  took  them  ;  but  the 
errand  was  as  ill  executed  as  contrived,  and  the  mas- 
ter of  the  Discovery  was  glad  to  return  with  a  severe 
drubbing  from  the  very  chief,  who  had  been  so  mal- 
treated by  Gierke.  The  crew  were  also  pelted  with 
stones,  and  had  all  their  oars  broken,  and  they  had  not 
a  single  weapon  in  the  boat,  not  even  a  cutlass, 
to  defend  themselves.  When  Gook  heard  of  this,  he 
went  armed  himself  in  person  to  the  guard  on  shore, 
took  a  file  of  marines  and  went  through  the  whole 
town  demanding  restitution,  and  threatening  the  de- 
linquents and  their  abettors  with  the  severest  punish- 
ments ;  but  not  being  able  to  effect  anything,  he  came 
off  just  at  sunset  highly  displeased,  and  not  a  little 
concerned  at  the  bad  appearance  of  things.  But  even 
this  was  nothing  to  what  followed. 

"  On  the  thirteenth,  at  night,  the  Discovery's  large 
c^i^ter,  which  was  at  her  usual  moorings  at  the  bower 
buoy,  was  taken  away.  On  the  fourteenth  the  cap- 
tains met  to  consult  what  should  be  done  on  this 
alarming  occasion  ;  and  the  issue  of  their  opinions  was, 
that  one  of  the  two  captains  should  land  with  armed 
boats  and  a  guard  of  marines  at  Kiverua,  and  attempt 
to  persuade  Teraiobu  who  was  then  at  his  house  in 
that  town,  to  come  on  board  upon  a  visit,  and  that 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


109 


when  he  was  on  board  he  should  be  kept  prisoner,  until 
his  sul)jects  should  release  him  by  a  restitution  of  the 
cutter ;  and  if  it  was  afterwards  thought  proper,  he,  or 
some  of  the  family  who  might  accompany  him,  should 
be  kept  as  perpetual  hostages  for  the  good  behavior  of 
the  people,  during  the  remaining  part  of  our  continu- 
ance at  Kearakekua.  This  plan  was  the  more  ap- 
proved of  by  Cook,  as  he  had  so  repeatedly  on  former 
occasions  to  the  southward  enn)loyed  it  with  success. 
Gierke  was  then  in  a  deep  decline  of  his  health,  and 
too  feeble  to  undertake  the  affair,  though  it  naturally 
devolved  upon  him,  as  a  point  of  duty  not  well  trans- 
ferable ;  he  therefore  begged  Cook  to  oblige  him  so 
much,  as  to  take  that  part  of  the  business  of  the  day 
upon  himself  in  his  stead.  This  Cook  agreed  to,  but 
previous  to  his  landing  made  some  additional  arrange- 
ments, respecting  the  possible  event  of  things,  though 
it  is  certain  from  the  appearance  of  the  subsequent 
arrangements,  that  he  guarded  more  against  the  flight 
of  Teraiobu,  or  those  he  could  wish  to  see,  than  from 
an  attack,  or  even  much  insult.  The  disposition  of  our 
guards,  when  the  movements  began,  was  thus.  Cook 
in  his  pinnace  with  six  private  marines ;  a  corporal, 
sergeant,  and  two  lieutenants  of  marines  went  ahead, 
followed  by  the  launch  with  other  marines  and  seam^ 
on  one  (|uarter,  and  the  small  cutter  on  the  other, 
with  only  the  crew  on  board.  This  part  of  the  guard 
rowed  for  Kearakekua.  Our  large  cutter  and  two 
boats  from  the  Discovery  had  orders  to  proceed  to  the 
mouth  of  the  bay,  form  at  eipial  distances  across,  and 
prevent  any  communication  by  water  from  any  other 
part  of  the  island  to  the  towns  witnin  the  bay,  or  from 


110 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


those  without.  Cook  landed  at  Kiverua  about  nine 
o'clock,  in  the  morning,  with  the  marines  in  the  pin- 
nace, and  went  by  a  circuitous  march  to  the  house  of 
Teraiobu,  in  order  to  evade  the  suspicion  of  any  de- 
sign. This  route  led  through  a  considerable  part  of 
the  town,  which  discovered  every  symptom  of  mis- 
chief, though  Cook,  blinded  by  some  fatal  cause, 
could  not  perceive  it,  or  too  self-confident,  would  not 
regard  it. 

*'  The  town  was  evacuated  by  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, who  had  retired  to  the  circumjacent  hills,  and  ap- 
peared almost  destitute  of  men ;  but  there  were  at  that 
time  two  hundred  chiefs,  and  more  than  twice  that 
number  of  other  men,  detached  and  secreted  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  houses  nearest  to  Teraiobu,  exclusive 
of  unknown  numbers  without  the  skirts  of  the  town, 
and  those  that  were  seen  were  dressed  many  of  them 
in  black.  When  the  guard  reached  Teraiobu's  house, 
Cook  ordered  the  lieutenant  of  marines  to  go  in  and 
sec  if  he  was  at  home,  and  if  he  was,  to  bring  him 
out ;  the  lieutenant  went  in,  and  found  the  old  man 
sitting  with  two  or  three  old  women  of  distinction, 
and  when  he  gave  Teraiobu  to  understand  that  Cook 
was  without,  and  wanted  to  see  him,  he  discovered 
\^e  greatest  marks  of  uneasiness,  but  arose  and  accom- 
panied the  lieutenant  out,  holding  his  hand.  When 
he  came  before  Cook,  he  squatted  down  upon  his  hams 
as  a  mark  of  humiliation,  and  Cook  took  him  by  the 
hand  from  the  lieutenant,  and  conversed  with  him. 

"  Tne  appearance  of  our  parade  both  by  water  and 
on  shore,  though  conducted  with  the  utmost  silence, 
and  with  as  little  ostentation  as  possible,  had  alarmed 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Ill 


the  towns  on  both  sides  of  the  bay,  but  particularly 
Kiverua,  where  the  people  were  in  complete  order  for 
an  onset ;  otherwise  it  would  have  been  a  matter  of 
surprise,  that  though  Cook  did  not  see  twenty  men  in 
passing  through  the  town,  yet  before  he  had  conversed 
ten  minutes  with  Teraiobu,  he  was  surrounded  by 
three  or  four  hundred  people,  and  above  half  of  them 
chiefs.  Cook  grew  uneasy  when  he  observed  this,  and 
was  the  more  urgent  in  his  persuasions  with  Teraiobu 
to  go  on  board,  and  actually  persuaded  the  old  man  to 
go  at  length,  and  led  him  within  a  rod  or  two  of  the 
shore;  but  the  just  fears  and  conjectures  of  the  chiefs 
at  last  interposed.  They  held  the  old  man  back,  and 
one  of  the  chiefs  threatened  Cook,  when  he  attempted 
to  make  them  quit  Teraiobu.  Some  of  the  crowd 
now  cried  out,  that  Cook  was  going  to  take  their  king 
from  them  and  kill  him,  and  there  was  one  in  particu- 
lar that  advanced  towards  Cook  in  an  attitude  that 
alarmed  one  of  the  guard,  who  presented  his  bayonet 
and  opposed  him,  acquainting  Cook  in  the  mean  time 
of  the  danger  of  his  situation,  and  that  the  Indians  in 
a  few  minutes  would  attack  him  ;  that  he  had  over- 
heard the  man,  whom  he  had  just  stopped  from  rush- 
ing in  upon  liim,  say  that  our  boats  which  were  out  in 
the  harbor  had  just  killed  his  brother,  and  he  would 
be  revenged.  Cook  attended  to  what  this  man  said, 
and  desired  him  to  show  him  the  Indian,  that  hud 
dared  to  atteni[)t  a  coml)at  with  him,  and  as  soon  as 
he  was  pointed  out,  Cook  fired  at  him  with  a  blank. 
The  Indian,  perceiving  he  received  no  damage  from 
the  fire,  rushed  from  without  the  crowd  a  second  time, 
and  threatened  any  one  that  should  oj)pose  him.  Cook, 


m 


m 


112 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


perceiving  tliis,  fired  a  ball,  which  entering  the  Indian's 
groin,  he  fell  and  was  drawn  off  by  the  rest. 

"  Cook  perceiving  the  people  determined  to  oppose 
his  designs,  and  that  he  should  not  succeed  without 
further  bloodshed,  ordered  the  lieutenant  of  marines, 
Mr  Phillips,  to  withdraw  his  men  and  get  them  into 
the  boats,  which  were  then  lying  ready  to  receive 
them.  This  was  effected  by  the  sergeant,  but  the  in- 
stant they  began  to  retreat.  Cook  was  hit  with  a  stone, 
and  perceiving  the  man  who  threw  it,  shot  him  dead. 
The  officer  in  the  boats  observing  the  guard  retreat, 
and  hearing  ttiis  third  discharge,  ordered  tlu'  boats 
to  fire.  This  occasioned  the  guard  to  face  about  and 
fire,  and  then  the  attack  became  general.  Cook  and 
Mr  Phillips  were  together  a  few  paces  in  the  rear  of  the 
guard,  and,  perceiving  a  general  fire  without  orders, 
quitted  Teraiobu,  and  ran  to  the  shore  to  put  a  stop 
to  it,  but  not  being  able  to  make  themselves  heard, 
and  being  close  pressed  uptm  by  the  chiefs,  they  joined 
the  guard,  who  fired  as  they  retreated.  Cook,  having 
at  length  reached  tiie  margin  of  the  water,  betv>  een  the 
fire  of  the  boats,  waved  with  his  hat  lor  them  to  cease 
firing  and  come  in  ;  and  while  he  was  doing  this,  a 
chief  from  behind  stabbed  him  with  one  of  our  iron 
daggers,  just  under  the  shoulder-blade,  and  it  passed 
quite  through  his  body.  Cook  fell  with  his  face  in  the 
water,  and  immediately  e\|)ired.  ]Mr  Phillips,  not 
being  able  any  longer  to  use  his  fusee,  drew  his 
sword,  and  engaging  the  chief  whom  he  saw  kill  i^uok, 
soon  despatched  him.  His  guard  in  the  mean  time 
were  all  killed  but  two,  and  they  had  plunged  into 
the  water,  and  were   uwimming  tu  ihc  boats,     lie 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


113 


Stood  thus  for  some  time  the  butt  of  all  their  force,  and 
being  as  complete  in  the  use  of  his  sword,  as  he  was 
accomplished,  his  noble  achievements  struck  the  bar- 
barians with  awe ;  but  being  wounded,  and  growing 
faint  from  loss  of  blood  and  excessive  action,  he 
plunged  into  the  sea  with  his  sword  in  his  hand  and 
swam  to  the  boats ;  where,  however,  he  was  scarcely 
taken  on  board,  before  somebody  saw  one  of  the 
marines,  that  had  swum  from  the  shore,  lying  flat  upon 
the  bottom.^  Phillips,  hearing  this,  ran  aft,  threw 
himself  in  after  him,  and  brought  him  up  with  him  to 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  both  were  taken  in. 

"  The  boats  had  hitherto  kept  up  a  very  hot  fire,  and, 
lying  off  without  the  reach  of  any  weapon  but  stones, 
had  received  no  damage,  and,  being  fully  at  leisure  to 
keep  up  an  unremitted  and  uniform  action,  made  great 
havoc  among  the  Indians,  particularly  among  the 
chiefs,  who  stood  foremost  in  the  crowd  and  were 
most  exposed  ;  but  whether  it  was  from  their  bravery, 
or  ignorance  of  the  real  cause  that  deprived  so  many 
of  them  of  life,  that  they  made  such  a  stand,  may  be 
questioned,  since  it  is  certain  that  they  in  general,  if  not 
universally,  understood  heretofore,  that  it  was  the  fire 
only  of  our  arms  that  destroyed  them.  This  opinion 
seems  to  be  strengthened  by  the  circumstance  of  the 
large,  thick  mats,  they  were  observed  to  wear,  which 
were  also  constantly  kept  wet ;  and,  furthermore,  the 
Indian  that  Cook  fired  at  with  a  blank  discovered  no 
fe;ir,  when  he  found  his  mat  unburnt,  saying  in  their 
language,  when  he  showed  it  to  the  by-standers,  that 
no  fire  had  touched  it.  This  may  be  supposed  at  least 
to  have  had  some  influence.  It  is,  however,  certain, 
.•  T6 


-IMl^ 


t' 


ii4* 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


llBI' 

ililiii 


whether  ftom  one  or  both  these  causes,  that  the  num- 
bers that  fell  made  no  apparent  impression  on  those 
who  survived  ;  they  were  immediately  taken  off,  and 
had  their  places  supplied  in  a  constant  succession. 

"  Lieutenant  Gore,  who  commanded  as  first  lieute- 
nant under  Cook  in  the  Resolution,  which  lay  opposite 
the  place  where  this  attack  was  made,  perceiving  with 
his  glass  that  the  guard  on  shore  was  cut  off,  and  that 
Cook  had  fallen,  immediately  passed  a  spring  upon 
one  of  the  cables,  and,  bringing  the  ship's  starboard 
guns  to  bear,  fij'ed  two  round  shot  over  the  boats  into 
the  middle  of  the  crowd  ;  and  both  the  thunder  of  the 
cannon,  and  the  effects  of  the  shot,  operated  so  power- 
fully, that  it  produced  a  most  precipitate  retreat  from 
the  shore  to  the  town." 

<*  Our  mast  that  was  repairing  at  Kearakekua,  and 
our  astronomic'ril  tents  were  protected  only  by  a  corpo- 
ral and  six  marines,  exclusive  of  the  carpenters  at 
work  upon  it,  and  demanded  immediate  protection. 
As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  people  were  refreshed  with 
some  grog  and  reinforced,  they  were  ordered  thither. 
In  the  mean  time  the  marine,  who  had  been  taken  up 
by  Mr  Phillips,  discovered  returning  life,  and  seemed 
in  a  way  to  recover,  and  we  found  Mr  Phillips's 
wound  not  dangerous,  though  very  bad.  We  also  ob- 
served at  Kiverua,  that  our  dead  were  drawn  off  by 
the  Indians,  which  was  a  mortifying  sight ;  but  after 
the  boats  were  gone  they  did  it  in  spite  of  our  cannon, 
which  were  firing  at  them  several  minutes.  They 
had  no  sooner  effected  this  matter,  than  they  retired 
to  the  hills  to  avoid  our  shot.  The  expedition  to 
Kiverua  had  taken  up  about  an  hour  and  an  half,  and 
we  lost,  besides  Cook,  a  corporal  ^and  three  marines. 


<i- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


115 


*'  Notwithstanding  the  despatch  that  was  "''ed  in 
sending  a  force  to  Kearakekua,  the  small  party  there 
Were  already  attacked  before  their  arrival,  but  by  an 
excellent  nianceuvre  of  taking  possession  of  the 
Morai,  they  defended  themselves  without  any  material 
damage,  until  the  succours  came.  The  natives  did 
not  attempt  to  molest  the  boats  in  their  debarkation  of 
our  people,  which  we  much  wondered  at,  and  they 
soon  joined  the  others  upon  the  Morai,  amounting  in 
the  whole  to  about  sixty.  Mr  Phillips,  notwithstand- 
ing his  wound,  was  present,  and  in  conjunction  with 
Lieitenant  King  carried  the  chief  command.  The  plan 
was  to  act  only  defensively,  until  we  could  get  our  mast 
into  the  water,  to  tow  off,  and  our  tents  into  the  boats ; 
and  as  soon  as  that  was  effected,  to  return  on  board. 
This  we  did  in  about  an  hour's  time,  but  not  without 
killing  a  number  of  the  natives,  who  resolutely  attacked 
us,  and  endeavored  to  mount  the  walls  of  the  Morai, 
where  they  were  lowest ;  but  being  opposed  with  our 
skill  in  such  modes  of  attack,  and  the  great  superiority 
of  our  arms,  they  were  even  repulsed  with  loss,  and  at 
length  retreated  among  the  houses  adjacent  to  the 
Morai,  which  affording  a  good  opportunity  to  retreat 
to  our  boats,  we  embraced  it,  and  got  off  all  well. 
Our  mast  was  taken  on  the  booms,  and  repaired  there, 
though  to  disadvantage." 

This  account  is  the  more  valuable,  as  havi|ig  been 
drawn  up  by  one,  who  had  a  personal  knowledge  of 
all  th:it  passed.  Neither  Captain  King,  nor  Captain 
Burney,  each  of  whom  has  described  the  transactions, 
wns  on  shore  with  Cook.  Nor  indeed,  as  hinted 
alinve,  can  it  be  inferred  with  certainty  from  anything 
Ledyard  sa}s,  that  he  was  in  that  part  of  the. fray. 


m 

^^^m  : 

F^l 

i 

flfll 

m^l 

ii^i'sB 

mj\ 

m 

pl 

•% 

■m 

r*;  ■ 

116 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LFDYARD. 


But  the  confidence  and  particularity  with  which  he 
s|)eaks  would  seem  to  indicate  actual  observation. 
We  have  Captain  Burney's  testimony,  moreover, 
which  may  be  deemed  conclusive.  He  says,  that 
*'  Cook  landed  with  Lieutenant  Molesworth  Phillips  of 
the  marines.  Sergeant  Gibson,  Corporals  Thomas  and 
Ledyard,  and  six  private  marines,  being  in  the  whole 
eleven  persons."*  It  follows,  that  Ledyard  must  have 
been  near  Cook  from  the  time  he  left  the  ship  till  he 
was  killed,  and  that  he  heard  and  saw  distinctly  all 
that  happened.  Four  marines  were  killed,  three 
wounded,  and  three  escaped  unhurt,  of  which  last 
number  he  was  one. 

After  this  melancholy  catastrophe,  the  ships  re- 
mained six  days  in  the  harbor,  till  the  defective  mast 
was  repaired,  and  a  supply  of  water  obtained.  This 
latter  was  effected  with  difficulty,  however,  as  the 
watering  parties  were  repeatedly  assailed  by  the  na- 
tives, and  skirmishes  ensued.  It  may  well  be  imagined, 
therefore,  that  the  hour  of  departure  was  hailed  with 
joy  by  all  on  board.  They  passed  ten  days  more  among 
the  islands,  and,  the  water  on  board  being  bad,  a  fresh 
supply  was  procured  at  the  island  of  Atui.  The  season 
being  now  advanced,  and  everything  in  readiness,  they 
launched  out  again  into  the  great  ocean,  pursuing  a 
northerly  course,  with  the  design  of  making  a  second 
attempt  to  explore  the  polar  regions,  in  search  of  a 
northwest  passage.  In  six  weeks  they  approached  the 
shore  of  Kamtschatka,  and  anchored  in  the  harbor  of 
St  Peter  and  Si  Paul.  The  result  of  the  expedition  is 
well  known.   They  passed  through  Bering's  Strait,  and 

*  Chronological  History  of  r^ortiieastern  Voyages  of  Discovery 
p.2t)0. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Ill 


groped  among  islands  of  ice  in  a  high  latitude,  but  with 
no  better  success,  than  the  year  before.  They  touched 
again  at  Kamtschatka  on  their  return,  and,  proceeding 
by  the  way  of  China  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
they  reached  England,  after  an  absence  of  four  years 
and  three  months. 

Many  facts  and  speculations  in  our  traveller's  jour- 
nal, not  a  little  curious  in  themselves,  have  been 
omitted  in  the  pre<!eding  sketch,  because  they  would 
occu|  y  a  space  not  consistent  with  the  nature  or  limits 
of  the  present  memoir.  I  am  tempted,  however,  in 
this  connexion  to  quote  his  remarks  on  the  mode  in 
which  the  South  Sea  Islands  were  probably  first  peo- 
pled. The  subject  has  since  been  much  discussed  by 
philosophers  and  geographers,  but  no  one  before  him 
had  examined  it  with  views  so  much  enlarged  by  ex- 
perience and  observation ;  and  it  is  believed  he  was  the 
first  to  advance  the  opinion,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
those  islands,  scattered  as  they  are  through  an  ocean 
of  vast  extent,  "  were  derived  from  one  common  ori- 
gin." Of  this  he  will  not  allow  that  there  is  any  room 
for  doubt,  and  the  only  question  is,  whether  ihey  came 
from  Asia  or  America.  Whichever  way  this  question 
may  be  answered,  there  will  remain  objections  not 
easy  to  be  removed,  if  we  attempt  to  find  out  a  re- 
semblance in  every  peculiarity  of  character  and  man- 
ners, or  to  explain  obvious  differences.  He  does  not 
pretend  to  solve  the  problem,  but  only  to  throw  out 
such  hints  illustrative  of  the  subject  as  occurred  to 
him,  and  as  tend  to  establish  the  possibility,  that  an 
emigration  from  either  of  the  continents  might  have 
reached  to  all  the  islands,  without  any  other  means  of 


if 
m 


if ' 


IIB 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


transportation,  than  such  as   the   people  themselves 
possessed.  '  >    * 

"  The  New  Zealanders  say  their  ancestors  came 
from  an  island  called  Hawyjee  ;  now  Owyhee,  as  we 
carelessly  pronounce  it,  is  pronounced  by  its  inhabi- 
tants Hawyhee.  This  is  a  curious  circumstance,  and 
admits  of  a  presumption,  that  the  island  of  Owyhee,  or 
Hawyhee,  is  the  island  from  which  the  New  Zealand- 
ers originally  emigrated.  It  supersedes  analogical 
evidence.  But  Owyhee  is  in  twenty  north,  and  New 
Zealand  is  in  forty  south,  and  not  abov  •  three 
hundred  leagues  distant  from  the  southern  parts  of 
New  Holland,  and  is  besides  situated  in  the  latitudes 
of  variable  winds,  which  admit  of  emigrations  from 
any  quarter.  On  the  other  hand,  the  languages  of 
Owyhee  and  New  Zealand  were  originally  the  same, 
and  as  much  alike  as  that  of  Otaheite  and  New  Zea- 
land ;  not  to  mention  other  circumstances  of  the  like 
kind.  Whereas  the  languages  at  New  Zealand  and 
New  Holland  have  very  little  or  no  resemblance  to 
each  other.  This  difference,  with  many  others,  be- 
tween New  Zealand  and  New  Holland,  cannot  be 
reconciled ;  but  the  difficulties  that  may  arise  from 
considering  the  distance  between  New  Zealand  and 
Owyhee  may  be,  as  there  are  clusters  of  islands  that 
we  know  of,  and  there  may  be  others  unknown,  that 
occupy,  at  no  great  distance  from  each  other,  the  inter- 
mediate ocean  from  Owyhee  to  New  Zealand.  The 
obvious  reasonings,  that  would  be  used  to  conclude  the 
New  Zealanders  emigrants  from  Owyhee,  would  be, 
first,  to  suppose  them  from  the  Friendly  Isles,  then  the 
Society  Isles,  and  then  the  Sandwich  Isles ;  and  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


119 


gradation  thus  formed  is  very  rational  and  argumenta- 
tive, because  all  their  manners  and  customs  have  the 
same  cast.  Suppose,  then,  that  the  islands  we  have 
mentioned  were  peopled  from  Owyhee,  and  suppose  it 
to  be  the  first  island  settled,  the  second  and  ultimate 
question  is.  From  which  of  the  continents,  America  or 
Asia  ?  Its  situation  respecting  America,  and  the  trade 
winds,  strongly  intimate  from  that  continent,  for  it  is 
twice  the  distance  from  Asia  that  it  is  from  America ; 
and  a  ship,  fitted  for  the  purpose  at  China,  which  is  in 
a  paralled  latitude,  would  be  more  than  two  months  in 
reaching  it,  and  we  must  suppose  the  emigrations  that 
respect  these  people  to  have  been  merely  fortuitous ; 
but  a  canoe,  driven  by  stress  of  weather  from  the 
southern  part  of  California,  or  the  coast  of  New  Gali- 
cia,  the  opposite  parallel,  would  reach  Owyhee  in  a 
direct  course  in  half  the  time  or  less.  The  distance 
is  about  nine  hundred  leagues,  and  we  saw  people  at 
the  island  Watteeoo,  who  had  been  driven  from  Ota- 
heite  there,  which  is  five  hundred  leagues. 

"  But  if  we  suppose  Owyhee  peopled  from  South 
America,  we  shall  be  somewhat  disappointed  in  sup- 
porting the  conjecture  by  arguments,  that  respect  their 
manners  and  customs,  and  those  of  the  Californians, 
Mexicans,  Peruvians,  or  Chilians.  There  is  but  a 
faint  analogy,  compared  with  that  which  we  should 
find  on  the  southeastern  coasts  of  Asia  in  the;^ 
respects.  Let  us  then,  without  attending  to  the  few 
analogical  customs,  that  subsist  between  the  Owyhee- 
ans  and  the  South  Americans,  reverse  our  system  of 
eaiit^ration.  Suppose  the  inhabitants  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands  to  have  come  from  the  Society  Islands,  and 


120 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


those  from  the  FrieHdl)'  Isles,  and  the  New  Zealan- 
ders  from  them ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  Friendl}?  Isles 
from  New  Caledonia,  from  the  New  Hebrides,  New 
Guinea,  Celebes,  Borneo,  Java,  or  Sumatra,  and  finally 
from  the  continent  at  Malacca.  Supposing  the  emi- 
gration we  are  now  speaking  of  to  have  taken  this 
course,  the  most  apparent  argument  in  its  favor  is,  the 
proximity  of  the  several  islands  to  each  other,  from  I  he 
Friendly  Isles  to  the  continent;  but  its  sufficiency 
will  abate,  if  we  consider  emigrations,  as  I  think  they 
are,  oftener  the  effects  of  accident  than  previous  inten- 
tion ;  especially  when  out  of  sight  of  land.  Besides, 
it  is  evident  from  ocular  proof,  that,  though  New 
Guinea  and  New  Holland  are  very  near  to  each  other, 
there  has  never  been  any  intercourse  between  them  ; 
and  yet,  from  many  appearances,  there  seems  to  have 
been  one  between  New  Guinea,  the  New  Hebrides, 
and  the  Friendly  Isles,  although  farther  distant  from 
each  other.  There  is  indeed  no  remarkable  similarity 
in  the  people,  customs,  and  manners  of  New  Guinea 
and  the  Friendly  Isles,  but  an  exact  conformity  be- 
tween the  domestic  animals  and  vegetable  productions 
of  both  countries.  Some  fruits,  that  we  call  tropical, 
are  peculiar  to  all  places  within  the  tropics ;  but 
bread-fruit  is  nowhere  known,  but  among  these  islands 
and  the  islands  further  northward  on  iUe  coast  of 
Asia.  It  is  not  known  at  New  Holland,  but  it  'Ib 
at  New  Guinea.  Therefore,  wherever  I  can  find  this 
bread-^Vuit  in  particular,  I  shall  suppose  an  intercourse 
to  have  once  subsisted,  and  the  more  so,  when  I  find  a 
correspondent  agreement  between  the  animals  of  dif- 
ferent places ;  and  it  ought  to  be  remembered  also^ 


LIFE  OF   JOHN    LEDYARD. 


121 


that  there  are  no  other  animals  throughout  those 
islands,  unless  they  are  near  the  continent ;  those 
remote  islands  have  no  other.  It  is  the  same  with 
their  vegetables.  The  remote  islands  have  no  water- 
melons, guavas,  and  such  other  fruits. 

"  These  observations  will  essentially  apply  to  the 
circumstances  of  emigration.  A  canoe,  in  passing 
along  its  own  coast,  or  visiting  a  neighboring  island, 
would  take  on  board  a  hog,  a  dog,  a  fowl,  and  bread- 
fruit for  subsistence,  in  preference  to  a  monkey,  a 
snake,  or  a  guava ;  and  if  the  canoe  is  driven  acci- 
dentally on  some  foreign  island,  they  turn  to  greater 
advantage." 

Since  these  remarks  were  written,  there  have  been 
many  opportunities  for  further  discovery,  but  very 
little  has  been  added  to  the  stock  of  knowledge  on 
the  subject.  The  missionaries,  during  a  residence  of 
thirty  years  in  the  Society  Islands,  have  found  nothing 
among  the  traditions  or  customs  of  the  people,  from 
which  their  origin  can  be  deduced.  It  was  supposed 
for  a  time,  that  the  languages  of  the  islanders  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean  would  afford  a  clue,  that  might  lead  to 
a  solution  of  the  difficulty  ;  but  hitherto  all  inquiries 
in  this  quarter  have  failed,  and  contributed  rather  to 
confirm  than  diminish  the  uncertainty,  which  existed  at 
first.  It  is  proved,  that  in  all  the  islands,  constituting 
that  portion  of  the  globe  denominated  in  recent 
geography  Polynesia,  a  multitude  of  dialects  prevail, 
which  have  so  near  an  affuiity  to  each  other,  as  to 
make  it  demonstratively  certain,  that  they  all  sprang 
from  the  same  stock.  It  is  moreover  remarkable, 
that  none  of  these  dialects,  which  has  as  yet  been  ex- 
16 


122 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


amined,  bears  any  analogy  to  other  known  languages, 
except  those  in  use  among  the  natives  of  these 
islands.  It  is  true,  that  in  the  Friendly  Islands,  New 
Zealand,  and  some  others  bordering  on  the  Asiatic 
islands,  a  few  Malayan  words  are  intermixed  with  the 
Polynesian,  but  so  sparingly  as  to  make  a  very  small 
part  only  of  the  whole,  and  with  characteristics 
plainly  indicating  their  foreign  origin.  If  we  may 
judge  from  the  grammars  prepared  by  the  missiona- 
ries, as  well  as  from  their  own  declarations,  very  few 
languages  are  more  widely  different  in  their  principles, 
structure,  and  vocabulary,  than  the  Malayan  and  Poly- 
nesian. No  argument,  therefore,  drawn  from  the 
analogy  of  languages,  any  more  than  from  striking 
traits  of  character  in  the  people,  can  be  urged  to 
prove  the  Polynesians  to  have  come  originally  from 
the  islands  on  the  south  of  Asia. 

The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  northern  Asia,  and 
South  America.  No  resemblances  in  language  have 
been  discovered,  and  very  slight  ones  only  in  prevail- 
ing customs ;  and  these,  after  all,  may  be  accidental. 
Malte-Brun  is  opposed  to  the  theory  of  an  emigration 
from  South  America,  on  the  ground,  that  the  islands 
nearest  the  coast  are  not  inhabited.  But  this  reason 
has  very  little  weight.  In  the  first  place,  these  islands 
are  small,  and  would  thus  be  the  less  likely  to  be  met 
by  canoes,  floating  at  random  over  the  ocean,  which 
was  undoubtedly  the  condition  of  the  first  emigrants  ; 
and  in  the  next  place,  they  are  sterile,  and  might  not 
have  afforded  subsistence  to  people  landing  on  them. 
Again,  these  islands  are  not  in  clusters,  but  scattered 
remotely  from  each  other,  and  many  casualties  may 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


123 


be  imagined  by  which  settlers  on  them  might  have 
been  cut  off,  even  if  accident  had  thrown  them  there. 
In  short,  little  can  be  said,  as  to  the  mode  of  the 
first  peopling  of  the  Polynesian  islands,  with  any 
approach  to  certainty.  The  study  of  the  language, 
which  the  missionaries  are  now  prosecuting,  will  open 
a  new  channel  of  investigation,  from  which  some 
favorable  results  may  be  hoped.  Nothing  will  proba- 
bly put  the  question  beyond  controversy,  but  the  dis- 
covery of  a  language  among  some  of  the  tribes  of 
Asia,  or  America,  which  bears  a  close  resemblance  to 
the  Polynesian.  As  no  written  memorials  of  the  lan- 
guages of  these  tribes  remain,  if  it  should  have  hap- 
pened, that  the  nation  from  which  the  islanders 
descended  has  become  extinct,  together  with  its  lan- 
guage, which  is  most  likely  to  be  the  case,  the  prob- 
lem must  go  down  to  future  ages,  a  theme  only  for 
ingenious  conjecture  and  speculation.  When  the  pre- 
valence of  the  trade  wind  is  considered,  always  setting 
towards  the  west,  the  probability  of  a  migration  from 
America  is  much  stronger,  than  of  one  from  Asia. 
Ledyard  considers  the  emigration  to  have  been  compar- 
atively recent,  because  the  islands  are  volcanic,  having 
been  formed  by  violent  eruptions  from  the  earth ;  and 
many  centuries  must  have  elapsed  after  such  an  event, 
before  they  could  be  habitable. 

The  journal,  which  has  now  passed  under  our 
notice,  can  in  no  respect  be  regarded  as  a  complete 
narrative  of  Cook's  Third  Voyage.  It  was  written, 
as  heretofore  stated,  under  many  disadvantages,  in 
haste,  and  without  the  aid  of  the  author's  original 
notes ;  and  to  all  appearance  the  manuscript  was 
printed  without  his  correction  and  supervision.     The 


m 


•4- 


124 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


part  prepared  by  himself  breaks  off,  indeed,  more  than 
a  year  before  the  end  of  the  voyage,  and  was  proba- 
bly filled  out  by  the  publisher  from  the  brief  account 
before  printed  in  England.  Ledyard's  descriptions 
agree  in  the  main,  however,  with  those  contained  in 
the  large  work,  which  afterwards  appeared  under  the 
authority  of  the  Admiralty.  Occasional  differences 
will  of  course  naturally  be  expected,  when  we  take 
into  view  the  different  circumstances  under  which  the 
commanding  officer,  and  a  corporal  of  marines,  would 
observe  the  objects  and  events  they  described.  The 
latter  was  often  in  situations  to  witness  and  contem- 
plate occurrences,  which  could  not  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  former,  and  which,  to  a  mind  acute 
and  observing  like  his,  would  make  impressions 
worthy  to  be  recorded.  Nor  is  it  any  disparagement 
of  the  other  writers  to  say,  that  several  of  Ledyard's 
descriptions  of  the  manners  and  peculiarities  of  the 
natives  are  written  with  a  vivacity,  descrimination, 
and  force,  which  they  have  not  equalled.  He  utters 
his  own  sentiments  with  a  boldness,  and  expresses 
himself  with  a  confidence,  that  convince  us  of  his 
sincerity,  honest  zeal,  and  mental  vigor,  even  when 
wo  cannot  assent  to  his  opinions.  He  sometimes  cen- 
sures his  superiors  in  office  with  a  freedom  not  alto- 
gether commendable,  and  imagines  them  to  have  been 
actuated  by  motives,  which  could  scarcely  exist.  This 
may  be  perceived  in  the  tone,  which  pervades  some 
of  the  extracts  quoted  above.  His  station  was  not 
one,  in  which  he  could  be  acquainted  with  the  views 
and  plans  of  the  commander,  and  yet  his  inquisitive 
temper,  and  high  sense  of  his  dignity  as  a  man,  prompt- 
ed iiim  to  think  for  himself,  and  put  much  reliance  in 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


125 


in 


the  conclusions  of  his  own  mind.  When  these  were 
thwarted,  as  they  often  would  be,  it  was  natural  that 
he  should  suppose  his  superiors  in  an  error,  especially 
if  ill  consequences  resulted  from  their  measures. 

He  was  accustomed  to  speak  with  high  respect  of 
Captain  Cook,  although  he  thought  his  proceedings 
towards  the  natives  sometimes  rash,  and  even  unjusti- 
fiable. But  this  was  no  more  than  has  been  thought 
by  many  others.  Nobody  has  ever  doubted  the  purity 
of  Cook's  intentions,  or  his  humanity,  but  he  adopted 
a  system  of  conduct  towards  the  savages,  especially 
in  punishing  slight  offences,  the  policy  and  good  effects 
of  which  were  less  obvious  to  others  than  to  himself. 
Pilfering  was  so  universal  in  all  the  South  Sea  islands, 
that  it  was  hardly  recognised  in  the  moral  code  of  the 
natives  as  an  offence,  much  less  a  crime  ;  yet  he  inva' 
riably  punished  transgressions  of  this  kind  with  severi- 
ty. A  long  course  of  experience  had  confirmed  the 
navigator  in  this  system,  and  he  practised  it  usually 
with  success.  We  have  seen  how  he  applied  it  in  the 
case  of  Feenou,  who  stole  the  peacocks  at  Tongata- 
boo,  and  many  similar  instances  might  be  cited.  It 
was  his  rigid  adherence  to  this  course,  in  fact,  which 
at  last  caused  his  death ;  for  he  landed  at  Kiverua  with 
the  express  purpose  of  enticing  the  old  king  on  board, 
that  he  might  retain  him  there  as  a  hostage,  till  the 
stolen  boat  should  be  given  up.  The  opinions  of 
Ledyard  on  this  head,  therefore,  though  sometimes 
expressed  with  earnestness,  argue  no  disrespect  or 
want  of  esteem  for  the  commander,  whom  he  honored 
for  the  high  station  to  which  his  merits  had  raised 
him,  and  whom  ho  admired  for  his  many  great  and 
good  qualities. 


'£H 

Mff' 

1^ 

^^K' 

m 

11 

m 

/' 


I 


126 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Ledyard  returns  to  America. — Interview  with  his  mother  after  an  absence  of 
eight  years. — Passes  the  winter  in  Hartford,  and  vtrrites  his  Journal  of  Cooii^s 
Voyage. — ^Visits  New  York  and  Philadelphia  to  concert  witli  the  merchants  a 
plan  of  a  commercial  expedition. — Robert  Morris  agrees  to  engage  in  a  trading 
voyage,  under  his  direction,  to  the  Northwest  Coast. — Proceeds  to  Boston, 
and  afterwards  to  New  London  and  New  York,  to  procure  a  vessel  for  the 
purpose. — Failure  of  the  enterprise,  after  a  year  had  been  spent  in  fruitless 
attempts  to  carry  it  into  effect. — Letters  to  his  mother. — Makes  a  trial  in  New 
London  to  enlist  the  merchants  of  that  place  in  his  scheme. — Was  the  first 
to  propose  a  voyage  for  a  mercantile  adventure  to  the  Northwest  Coast. — Sails 
for  Cadiz. — Letters  from  that  city  containing  political  remarks. — Sails  for 
L'Orient. — Makes  an  agreement  with  a  company  of  merchants  there  to  aid 
him  in  such  a  voyage  as  he  had  proposed  in  America. — ^After  eight  months' 
preparation  it  is  given  up. — Goes  to  Paris. 

During  the  two  years  succeeding  our  traveller's 
arrival  in  England  from  Cook's  last  expedition,  he 
continued  in  the  navy,  but  what  rank  he  held,  or  on 
what  stations  he  served,  cannot  now  be  ascertained. 
It  is  only  known,  that  he  refused  to  be  attached  to 
any  of  the  squadrons,  which  came  out  to  America, 
giving  as  a  reason,  that  he  would  not  appear  in  arms 
against  his  native  country.  Growing  weary,  however, 
of  a  mode  of  life  little  suited  to  his  disposition,  unless 
on  some  adventurous  enterprise,  like  that  from  which 
he  had  lately  returned,  his  thoughts  began  to  wander 
homeward,  and  to  dwell  on  the  scenes  of  his  youthful 
days.  Apparently  conquering  the  scruples,  which  he 
had  hitherto  urged  as  the  motives  of  his  reluctance, 
he  sought  the  first  opportunity  to  be  transferred  to  the 
American  station,  and  in  December,  1782,  we  find 
him  on  board  a  British  man-of-war  in  Huntington 
Bay,  Long  Island  Sound. 


• 


LIFE  OP  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


127 


It  was  natural  that  his  first  impulse  should  be  to 
visit  his  mother,  who  lived  at  Southold.  Ostensibly 
for  this  purpose  he  obtained  permission  of  seven  d^ys' 
absence  from  the  ship,  but  evidently  intending  to 
return  no  more.  Long  Island  was  then  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  British.  He  remained  but  a  short  time 
among  his  old  acquaintances  at  Huntington,  where,  it 
will  be  recollected,  in  his  theological  tour  ten  years 
before,  he  had  "  feasted  twelve  days  on  Mr  Prime's 
great  library."  From  this  place  he  hastened  to  South- 
old,  and  the  first  interview  with  his  mother  is  repre- 
sented as  affecting.  She  kept  a  boarding-house, 
which  was  at  that  time  occupied  chiefly  by  British 
officers.  He  rode  up  to  the  door,  alighted,  went 
in,  and  asked  if  he  could  be  accommodated  in  her 
house  as  a  lodger.  She  replied  that  he  could,  and 
showed  him  a  room  into  which  his  baggage  was  con- 
veyed. After  having  adjusted  his  dress,  he  rame  out 
and  took  a  seat  by  the  fire,  in  company  with  seve- 
ral other  officers,  without  making  himself  known  to 
his  mother,  or  entering  into  conversation  with  any 
person.  She  frequently  passed  and  repassed  through 
the  room,  and  her  eye  was  observed  to  be  attracted 
towards  him  with  more  than  usual  attention.  He  still 
remained  silent.  At  last,  after  looking  at  him  steadi- 
ly for  some  minutes,  she  deliberately  put  on  her  spec- 
tacles, approached  nearer  to  him,  begging  his  pardon 
for  her  rudeness,  and  telling  him,  that  he  so  much  re- 
sembled a  son  of  hers,  who  had  been  absent  eight 
years,  that  she  could  not  resist  her  inclination  to  view 
him  more  closely.  The  scene  that  followed  may  be 
imagined,  but  not  described  ;  for  Lcdyard  had  a  tender 


128 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


% 


heart,  and  affection   for  his  mother  was  among  its 
deepest  and  most  constant  emotions. 

As  he  had  already  resolved  to  quit  the  British  ser- 
vice, being  persuaded  that  no  principles  of  justice  or 
honor  could  make  it  his  duty  to  act  with  the  enemies 
of  his  country,  he  thought  it  prudent,  before  the  seven 
days  had  expired,  to  leave  his  mother's  house,  and  go 
over  to  the  continent.  The  recollections  of  his  child- 
hood detained  him  a  short  time  at  New  London  and 
Groton,  and  he  then  proceeded  to  Hartford,  where, 
after  a  ten  years'  wandering  in  the  remotest  corners 
of  the  globe,  he  received  the  cordial  greetings  of 
his  early  friends,  and  found  a  kind  home  under 
the  roof  of  his  uncle  and  former  guardian.  His  feel- 
ings on  this  occasion  will  be  understood  from  his 
remarks  in  a  letter,  written  shortly  after  he  reached 
Hartford.  "You  will  be  surprised  to  hear  of  my 
being  at  Hartford  ;  I  am  surprised  myself.  I  made 
my  escape  from  the  British  at  Huntington  Bay.  I  am 
now  at  Mr  Seymour's,  and  as  happy  as  need  be.  I 
have  a  little  cash,  two  coats,  three  waistcoasts,  six 
pair  of  stockings,  and  half  a  dozen  ruffled  shirts. 
I  am  a  violent  whig  and  a  violent  tory.  Many  are  my 
acquaintances.  I  eat  and  drink  when  I  am  asked,  and 
visit  when  I  am  invited ;  in  short,  I  generally  do  as  I 
am  bid.  All  I  want  of  my  friends  is  friendship ;  pos- 
sessed of  that,  I  am  happy."  In  writing  to  other  per- 
sons he  expresses  similar  satisfaction,  and  although, 
in  alluding  to  the  toils  and  sufferings  he  had  under- 
gone, he  declares  himself  to  have  been  worn  down  by 
them  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  make  his  person  so 
"  perfect   a    contrast    to    beauty  or  elegance,   that 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


129 


Hogarth  himself  could  not  deform  it ; "  yet  he  writes 
with  a  gaiety  and  playfulness,  which  show  the  sorrows 
of  the  past  to  have  been  forgotten  in  the  felicity  of 
the  present,  and  that  no  gloomy  anticipations  of  the 
future  were  allowed  to  mingle  their  alloy. 

In  Hartford  he  remained  four  months,  that  is,  from 
the  first  of  January  till  about  the  first  of  May,  iii 
which  period  he  wrote  the  Journal  of  Cook's  Voyage. 
In  this   occupation,  and   in  visiting   his  friends,  he 
passed  the  winter.     His  restless  spirit  could  be  tran- 
quil no  longer.    He  had  great  projects  in  view,  which 
he  was  impatient  to  see  executed.     New  adventures 
courted  his  fancy,  and  flattering  hopes  as  usual  pressed 
him  forward  with  an  ardent,  determined,  and  ceaseless 
zeal.     Bidding  adieu  to  his  friends  in  Hartford,  he 
repaired  to  New  York,  where  he  unfolded  his  plans  to 
such  persons,  as  he  thought  might  be  induced  to  pa- 
tronize them ;  but  not  meeting  with  encouragement 
adequate  to  his  sanguine  expectations,  he  hastened 
onward  to  Philadelphia.     He  had  but  just  arrived  in 
that   city,  when   he  described  his  condition   to   his 
cousin,  Dr  Isaac  Ledyard,  in  a  manner  so  characteris- 
tic, that  no  apology  will  be  necessary  for  quoting  the 
letter  in  full. 

"  The  day  after  I  parted  with  you,  I  took  the  Bor- 
denton  route,  and  the  next  morning  landed  at  the 
Crooked  Billet,  where  I  breakfasted,  and  sallied  out  to 
view  the  nakedness  of  things  here.  I  first  went  to 
McClanagan  ;  he  had  no  navigation  ;  next  to  two  other 
houses,  but  to  no  purpose.  I  then  went  among  the 
shipping,  and  examined  them  pretty  thoroughly.  I 
doubt  that  I  should  even  be  put  to  it  to  get  to  sea  be- 
17 


1^ 


Mm 


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130 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LGDYARD. 


I 


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m 


m 


V 


.-^ 


fore  the  mast.  The  most  of  the  shipping  here  are 
foreigners.  Sixteen  sail  of  seven  different  maritime 
powers  arrived  a  few  days  ago.  Fourteen  sailors 
went  out  to  the  northward  the  morning  I  arrived,  for 
want  of  employ,  and  numbers  are  strolling  the  docks 
on  the  same  account.  There  is  at  present  little  home 
navigation. 

"  After  a  walk  of  about  four  hours  I  returned  to 
my  quarters,  asked  for  a  room  to  change  my  dress, 
and  went  up  and  counted  my  cash ;  turned  it  over 
and  looked  at  it ;  shook  it  in  my  hand ;  recounted  it, 
and  found  two  French  crowns,  half  a  crown,  one 
fourth  of  a  dollar,  one  eighth  of  a  dollar,  and  just 
twelve  coppers.  Shall  I  visit  H's  ?  I  looked  at  my 
stockings ;  they  will  do ; — my  shoes — if  I  look  that 
way,  my  two  crowns  and  I  shall  part.  We  did  part, — 
I  put  my  new  pumps  on,  washed,  shaved,  and  went  to 
H's,  where  I  had  determined  not  to  go.  Mr  H.  is 
now  waiting  for  his  horse ;  he  is  going  to  Princeton. 
This  will  go  by  him.  I  am  at  a  loss  whether  to  say 
anything  about  money  here,  or  depend  upon  this  letter 
meeting  you  at  Princeton,  wait  the  return  of  Mr  H., 
the  chance  he  has  of  seeing  you,  or — I  don't  know 
what  to  do. — 1  am  determined.  Send  me  either  by 
Mr  H.  or  the  first  conveyance — some  cash.     Adieu." 

In  this  state  of  embarrassment  he  continued  for 
several  days,  seeking  employment  without  success, 
mortified  at  the  defeat  of  all  his  purposes,  and  cha- 
grined that  his  schemes  should  be  so  coldly  received 
by  those,  whom  he  had  fondly  hoped  would  under- 
stand and  promote  them.  By  another  letter,  however, 
written  two  or  three  weeks  after  the  above,  it  would 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


131 


appear,  that  a  gleam  of  light  was  breaking  in  upon 
him,  and  that  his  perseverance  had  not  been  wholly 
fruitless.     He  writes  again  to  his  cousin  ; 

"  It  is  uncertain  by  what  medium  of  conveyance 
this  may  reach  you.  I  design  it  for  the  Amboy  House, 
and  thence  to  Middletown.  A  duplicate  will  be 
directed  to  Princeton.  It  is  abundantly  manifest,  that 
this  argues  anxiety,  and  of  so  intense  a  kind  too,  as 
to  prompt  a  wish  for  the  possibility  of  the  annihilation 
of  time  and  distance.  I  have  been  so  often  the  sport 
of  fortune,  that  I  durst  hardly  credit  the  present  dawn 
of  bright  prospects.  But  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  Honora- 
ble Robert  Morris  is  disposed  to  give  me  a  ship  to  go 
to  the  North  Pacific  Ocean.  I  have  had  two  inter- 
views with  him  at  the  Finance  Office,  and  tomorrow 
I  ex^'ect  a  conclusive  one.  What  a  noble  hold  he  in- 
stantly took  of  the  enterprise !  I  have  been  two 
days,  at  his  request,  drawing  up  a  minute  detail  of  a 
plan,  and  an  estimate  of  the  outfits,  which  I  shall 
present  him  with  tomorrow  ;  and  I  am  pleased  to  find, 
that  it  will  be  two  thousand  pounds  less  than  one  of 
his  own.  I  take  the  lead  of  the  greatest  commercial 
enterprise,  that  has  ever  been  embarked  on  in  this 
country ;  and  one  of  the  first  moment,  as  it  respects 
the  trade  of  America.  If  the  affair  is  concluded  on, 
as  I  expect  it  will  be,  it  is  probable  I  shall  set  off  for 
New  England  to  procure  seamen,  or  a  ship,  or  both. 
Morris  is  wrapt  up  in  the  idea  of  Yankee  sailors. 

"Necessity  has  overcome  my  delicacy.  I  have 
unbosomed  myself  to  H.  and  laid  my  poverty  open  to 
him.  He  has  relieved  me  for  the  present,  which  I 
have  told  him  to  draw  on  you  for.     Send  me  some 


■?: 


V 


m 


•  » 


I 


■ 
H 


132 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


money,  for  Heaven's  sake,  lest  the  laurel,  now  sus- 
pended over  the  brows  of  your  friend,  should  fall  irre- 
coverably into  the  dust.     Adieu." 

The  enterprise  to  which  he  alludes  in  this  letter,  as 
having  been  concerted  with  Mr  Morris,  and  which  had 
occupied  his  thoughts  ever  since  his  return  from  Cook's 
expedition,  was  a  trading  voyage  to  the  Northwest 
Coast.  At  this  time  no  such  mercantile  adventure 
had  been  attempted,  either  in  this  country  or  Europe, 
Dor  is  it  known  that  anything  of  the  kind  had  even 
been  contemplated.  Ledyard's  knowledge  of  the 
resources  of  the  Northwest  Coast  in  furs,  derived  from 
his  observations  while  there,  particularly  at  Nootka 
Sound  and  the  Russian  establishment  on  the  island  of 
Onalaska,  together  with  the  enormous  advances,  which 
he  had  seen  paid  in  Canton  on  the  original  cost  of  this 
article,  had  convinced  him  that  great  profits  might 
be  realized  by  a  voyage,  fitted  out  expressly  for  this 
trade.  Hitherto  no  market  had  been  opened  to  the 
natives,  by  which  they  could  dispose  of  the  supera- 
bundance of  their  furs,  or  receive  such  articles  in 
exchange,  as  might  suit  their  fancy  or  convenience ; 
hence  the  furs  could  be  purchased  extremely  low,  and 
paid  for  in  commodities  of  little  intrinsic  value,  and  at 
such  prices  as  the  vendor  might  choose  to  afKix.  It 
was  clear,  therefore,  in  his  mind,  that  they,  who 
should  first  engage  in  this  trade,  would  reap  immense 
profits  by  their  earliest  efforts,  and  at  the  same  time 
gain  such  knowledge  and  experience,  as  would  enable 
them  to  pursue  it  for  years  with  advantages  superior 
to  any,  that  could  be  commanded  by  the  competitors, 
who  might  be  drawn  into  the  same  channel  of  com- 
merce. 


^\. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


133 


So  strong  had  grown  his  confidence  in  the  accuracy 
of  his  opinions,  by  long  reflection  on  the  subject,  and 
such  was  the  eagerness  of  his  desire  to  prove  the 
truth  of  his  theory  by  actual  experiment,  that  he  ap- 
plied the  whole  energy  of  his  mind  and  character  to 
the  task  of  creating  an  interest  in  his  project  among 
the  merchants,  who  had  the  means  of  carrying  it  into 
effect,  and  without  whose  patronage  nothing  could  be 
done.  In  New  York  he  was  unsuccessful ;  his  scheme 
was  called  wild  and  visionary,  and  set  down  as  bear- 
ing the  marks  rather  of  a  warm  imagination,  and 
sanguine  temperament,  than  of  a  sober  and  mature 
judgment.  No  merchant  was  found  willing  to  hazard 
his  money,  or  his  reputation,  in  an  adventure  so  novel 
in  its  kind,  and  so  questionable  in  its  promise,  a 
scheme  not  only  untried,  but  never  before  thought  of. 
His  first  inquiries  in  Philadelphia  met  with  no  better 
favor,  till  Mr  Robert  Morris,  with  an  enlargement  of 
mind  and  purpose,  which  characterized  his  undertak- 
ings, entered  into  his  views,  and  made  arrangements 
to  furnish  the  outfits  of  a  voyage,  according  to  the 
plan  he  drew  up. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  procure  a  ship 
suitable  for  such  a  voyage.  At  that  time  there  was 
none  unemployed  in  Philadelphia,  and  Ledyard  was 
despatched  to  Boston,  where  it  was  thought  a  pur- 
chase might  speedily  be  effected,  and  where  progress 
was  actually  made  in  the  preparation  of  a  vessel 
for  this  purpose ;  but  for  some  cause  not  now  known 
it  was  taken  for  a  voyage  of  a  different  kind.  He 
next  proceeded  to  New  London,  where  the  Con- 
tinental frigate,  Trumbull,  was  engaged  for  the  voy- 


S !'  I 


MS, 


134 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


age,  but  this  ship  was  afterwards  diverted  to  another 
adventure,  suggested  by  this  plan.  The  Count  d'Ar- 
tois,  a  large  French  ship  then  lying  in  the  harbor  of 
New  London  was  next  thought  of,  but  was  finally 
otherwise  destined.  Again,  a  ship  in  New  York,  of 
about  three  hundred  tons,  was  provided ;  but  on 
examination  it  proved  to  be  so  old  and  defective, 
that  it  was  condemned  as  unsafe  for  a  voyage  of  such 
length  and  hazard.  The  season  was  by  this  time  too 
I  far  advanced  to  think  of  prosecuting  the  voyage  before 
the  next  spring.  Meantime  Mr  Daniel  Parker  was 
employed  to  purchase  a  ship  in  New  York,  and  to 
have  it  in  readiness  as  soon  as  the  favorable  season  for 
its  sailing  should  arrive.  A  ship  was  procured  accord- 
ingly, but  the  outfits  were  delayed  from  time  to  time, 
till  the  winter  passed  by,  and  then  the  spring,  and  at 
last  it  was  sent  on  an  adventure  to  Canton.  Thus  a 
year  was  spent,  in  a  vexatious  and  fruitless  struggle 
to  overcome  difificulties,  which  thickened  as  he  ad- 
vanced, till  bis  patience,  and  that  of  Mr  Morris  also, 
would  seem  to  have  been  exhausted,  for  the  voyage 
was  altogether  abandoned. 

While  he  was  in  New  London  negotiating  for  the 
ship  Trumbull,  after  his  return  from  Boston,  he  wrote 
a  letter  to  his  mother,  from  which  an  extract  here 
follows. 

"  This  is  the  first  opportunity  in  reality,  which  I 
have  had  of  writing  to  your  since  1  iuive  been  in  this 
country.  My  ambition  to  do  everything,  which  my 
disposition  as  a  man,  and  my  relative  character  as  a 
citizen,  and  more  tenderly  as  the  leading  descendant 
of  a  broken  and  distressed  family,  should  prompt  me 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


135 


to  do,  has  engaged  me  in  every  kind  of  speculation, 
which  afforded  the  least  probability  of  advancing  my 
interest,  my  happiness,  or  the  happiness  of  my  friends. 
These  different  engagements  have  led  me  into  different 
conditions ;  sometimes  I  have  been  elated  with  hope, 
sometimes  depressed  with  disappointment  and  distress. 
I  postponed  informing  you  of  my  circumstances,  in- 
dulging the  constant  hope  of  their  soon  being  better, 
until  which  time  I  was  determined  you  should  not 
know  anything  particularly  concerning  me.  If  that 
time  is  now  arrived,  it  has  been  more  from  the  influ- 
ence of  a  kind  Providence,  than  my  own  merits.  My 
prospects  at  present  are  a  voyage  to  the  East  Indies, 
and  eventually  round  the  world.  It  will  be  of  two  or 
three  years'  duration.  If  I  am  successful,  I  shall  not 
have  occasion  to  absent  myself  any  more  from  my 
friends ;  but  above  all,  I  hope  to  have  it  in  my  power 
to  minister  to  the  wants  of  a  beloved  parent,  and 
others  who  languish  and  fade  in  obscurity.  My  dear 
sisters  engage  my  tenderest  love,  and  solicitude  for 
their  future  welfare.  My  best  wish  is,  that  they  may 
be  educated  and  disposed  of  suitably  to  the  beauty  of 
their  persons,  and  their  excellent  hearts,  and  that  I 
could  be  instrumental  in  conferring  such  a  kindness. 
I  beg  my  brotherly  salutations  to  them.  Tell  them  I 
long  to  strew  roses  in  their  laps,  and  branches  of  palm 
beneath  their  feet." 

It  ought  to  be  recorded  in  this  place,  that  while 
Ledyard  was  in  New  York,  anxiously  waiting  for  a 
vessel,  his  embarrassments,  occasioned  by  the  want  of 
money,  were  often  relieved,  in  a  spirit  of  great  kind- 
ness, by  Mr  Comfort  Sands.   This  gentleman  became 


m 


136 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


acquainted  with  him  in  Philadelphia,  and  early  ap- 
proved and  promoted  the  enterprise,  which  he  had  in 
contemplation ;  he  proposed  sending  an  adventure  by 
the  same  voyage,  and  during  the  whole  preparation 
rendered  him  essential  services,  for  which  it  is  believ- 
ed he  never  received  any  other  returns,  than  such  as 
always  attend  the  consciousness  of  benevolent  acts, 
and  of  having  aided  the  advancement  of  large  and 
useful  designs. 

Not  discouraged  by  the  ill  fortune,  which  he  had  so 
signally  experienced,  Ledyard  resolved  not  to  relin- 
quish his  purpose,  till  he  had  made  other  trials  to  carry 
it  forward.  He  repaired  to  New  London,  and  sug- 
gested the  same  adventure  to  persons  of  commercial 
pursuits  in  that  port.  He  was  particularly  strenuous 
in  persuading  Captain  Deshon,  who  owned  a  fine  new 
ship  then  lying  in  the  harbor,  and  well  constructed  for 
such  a  voyage,  to  embark  with  him  in  a  trading 
expedition  to  the  Northwest  Coast.  Captain  Deshon 
was  the  nephew  of  the  commander  of  the  vessel,  in 
which  Ledyard  sailed  to  Gibraltar,  and  although  at 
that  time  a  youth,  he  was  himself  on  board  in  the 
service  of  his  uncle.  A  friendship  had  ever  afterwards 
subsisted  between  the  two  voyagers,  and  Captain 
Deshon  was  now  willing  tojoin  with  his  friend  in  any 
mercantile  adventure,  which  should  seem  to  him  prac- 
ticable, safe,  and  affording  a  reasonable  prospect  of 
gain.  But  Ledyard  drew  so  glowing  a  picture  of  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  his  projected  voyage, 
the  trilling  value  of  the  articles  necessary  for  an  out- 
ward cargo,  and  the  immense  advances  that  would  be 
received  on  the  price  of  the  articles  purchased ;  in 


.-.'. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


137 


short,  his  enthusiasm  gave  so  bright  a  coloring  to  his 
representations,  and  such  amplitude  to  his  hopes,  that 
Captain  Deshon  could  not  so  far  resist  the  dictates  of 
prudence,  as  to  participate  in  feelings  and  views, 
which  he  deemed  little  short  of  romantic,  and  as 
more  strongly  tinged  with  the  native  warmth  of  his 
character,  than  with  that  trait  of  mind,  which  weighs 
and  deliberates  cautiously  before  it  resolves.  It  is 
needless  to  add,  that,  under  these  impressions,  he 
could  not  prevail  on  himself  to  second  his  friend's 
wishes ;  yet  he  was  afterwards  heard  to  say,  that 
Ledyard's  account,  in  its  minutest  details,  was  verified 
by  the  first  voyages  of  that  kind  from  the  United 
8*1?' OS,  and  that  he  had  often  regretted  his  not  hav- 
'm^  ^tmed  to  him,  and  prosecuted  the  voyage  in 
coi^  .^lice  with  his  solicitation.  As  far  as  can  be 
ascertained,  Ledyard's  views  of  the  subject,  both  as 
unfolded  in  the  transactions  with  Mr  Morris  and  with 
Captain  Deshon,  accorded  exactly  with  those  acted 
upon  by  the  first  adventurers,  who  were  rewarded 
with  extraordinary  success.  It  was  a  part  of  his  plan 
to  purchase  lands  of  the  natives,  and  establish  a  fac- 
tory, or  colony,  for  the  purpose  of  a  continued  inter- 
course and  trade. 

Weary  of  making  fruitless  applications  in  his  own 
country,  Ledyard  determined  to  embark  for  Europe, 
where  he  might  expect  better  patronage  from  larger 
capitalists,  and  in  a  wider  field  of  commercial  activity. 
Mr  Morris  had  made  liim  some  compensation  for  the 
time  he  had  spent  in  his  service,  and  favored  him 
with  several  letters  of  recommendation  to  eminent 
merchants  abroad,  particularly  in  France.     He  took 


IB 


t^'^Kl^i    04,     <^* 


^^y^-x^^  *♦*/ V  $y  '  f<^**^  <i  r-tfV  j-ttfjt 


V^t^-d^, 


138 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


M 


passage  in  a  vessel  from  New  London,  bound  to  Ca- 
diz. On  the  first  of  June,  1784,  he  wrote  as  follows 
to  his  mother. 

J  "Since  I  saw  you  last,  I  have  passed  through  a 
great  many  difficulties  and  disappointments,  which 
my  most  intimate  friends  are,  and  must  be  for  the 
present,  at  least,  unacquainted  with,  as  it  will  answer 
no  good  purpose  to  break  their  repose,  or  add  to  my 
cares,  by  reflecting  on  what  is  past,  and  thence  antici- 
pating evil.  You  have  no  doubt  heard  of  my  very 
great  disappointment  at  New  York.  For  a  moment, 
all  the  fortitude,  that  ten  years'  misfortune  had  taught 
me,  could  hardly  support  me.  I  am  now  very  well 
in  health.  This  will  probably  be  the  last  letter  I  shall 
write  you  from  this  country.  I  shall  sail  within 
twelve  days  for  Spain,  whence  I  expect  to  go  to 
France,  and  there  again  to  renew  the  business  I  was 
so  unfortunate  in  at  New  York.  If  I  succeed  in  my 
wishes,  it  may  be  two  or  three  years  before  I  return. 
In  this  interim,  I  pray  you  to  give  me  your  blessing 
and  your  prayers.  My  sisters  I  hope  are  well,  and 
beg  them  to  accept  a  brother's  love.  Please  to  pre- 
sent my  kind  love  to  my  brothers.  May  that  Being, 
who  is  infinitely  great  and  infinitely  good,  be  the 
friend  of  them,  and  of  us  all." 

He  sailed  for  Spain,  as  here  intimated,  shortly  after 
writing  this  letter,  having  been  the  first,  whether  in 
America  or  Europe,  to  suggest  a  scheme  of  trade  with 
the  Northwest  Coast,  which  has  since  proved  to  be  a 
very  lucrative  field  of  commerce  to  merchants  in 
both  hemispheres.  It  was  more  than  a  year  after  his 
earliest  application  to  the  merchants  in  New  York, 


Ij 


:.ff* 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


139 


before  any  expedition  of  the  kind  was  fitted  out  from 
Europe.  The  first  voyage  from  the  United  States  to 
the  Northwest  Coast  was  in  the  ship  Columbia,  of 
three  hundred  tons,  which  sailed  from  Boston  under 
the  command  of  Captain  John  Kendrick,  about  three 
years  after  Ledyard's  visit  to  that  place,  in  search  of 
a  ship  for  Mr  Morris.  He  may  justly  be  considered, 
therefore,  the  first  projector  of  this  branch  of  com- 
merce. Captain  Kendrick  so  far  adopted  his  ulterior 
purpose,  as  to  purchase  lands  of  the  natives,  with 
a  view  of  founding  a  colony  there,  when  a  proper 
occasion  should  offer.  To  this  end  he  took  formal 
deeds  of  the  land,  confirmed  by  the  signs  manual  of 
the  chiefs,  who  claimed  the  territory.*  To  some  of 
his  friends,  Ledyard  mentioned  his  intention  of  leaving 
the  ship  on  the  coast,  when  the  cargo  should  be 
obtained,  and  exploring  the  country  over  land  from 
Nootka  Sound,  or  some  point  farther  north,  across  to 
the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  thus  traversing  thtf^ 
whole  space  between  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  oceans. 
Meantime  the  vessel  was  to  proceed  to  China,  and 
thence  to  return  and  meet  him  in  New  York,  ready 
for  another  voyage. 

But  all  the  fine  prospects,  which  he  had  dwelt  upon 
in  anticipation,  are  to  be  given  up  for  the  present,  and 
we  must  follow  him  to  Europe.  The  passage  to 
Cadiz  was  favorable  and  expeditious.  He  does  not 
seem  to  have  had  any  special  design  in  visiting  Cadiz, 


% 


*  The  original  deeda  are  now  in  tlio  ofiico  of  tho  Secretary  of  State 
in  Washington.  In  company  with  tlio  Cohimbia  was  tlio  Washington^ 
a  vesHol  of  one  hundred  tons'  burden,  commanded  by  Captain  Robert 
Grey. 


140 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


in  reference  to  the  main  object  of  his  crossing  the 
Atlantic.  This  destination  probably  awaited  him,  in 
consequence  of  an  opportunity  presenting  itself  of  a 
more  direct  passage  to  that  port,  than  to  any  other 
in  the  south  of  Europe.  L'Orient  was  the  city, 
which  he  intended  to  visit,  and  in  which  he  had  been 
encouraged  to  look  for  patrons  of  his  projected  enter- 
prise. He  had  been  furnished  with  letters  to  weal- 
thy and  enterprising  merchants  there,  and  he  made  all 
haste  to  be  on  the  spot.  Various  causes  of  delay  kept 
'  him  in  Cadiz  more  than  a  month.  This  time  he  filled 
up  as  well  as  he  could,  in  gaining  information  of  the 
place,  of  its  resources  and  trade,  and  of  the  manners 
and  character  of  the  people.  He  also  endeavored  to 
drive  away  the  melancholy  thoughts,  incident  to  the 
anxiety  of  his  situation,  by  mingling  in  social  circles, 
and  contriving  to  be  entertained  by  the  public  amuse- 
ments, that  were  much  frequented  by  all  ranks  of 
people.  On  the  sixteenth  of  August  he  wrote  thus 
y,r*ji -Cadiz  to  Dr  Ledyard. 

"  Just  as  I  was  seated,  and  had  dated  my  letter, 
the  carriage  of  General  O'Reilly  hove  in  view,  a 
clumsy,  gothic  vehicle,  dragged  by  five  jaded  mules  to 
the  bull-fight.  Who  is  General  O'Reilly  ?  A  poor, 
migrating,  Irish  cadet ;  a  soldier  that  was  scalded  at 
the  storm  of  Gibraltar.  O'Reilly  is  to  Cadiz,  and  all 
within  his  jurisdiction,  which  consists  of  two  provin- 
ces, what  Czar  Peter  was  to  Russia.  The  reform  he 
has  made  in  the  minutest  parts  of  his  government,  as 
well  as  the  most  important,  is  looked  upon  as  a  phe- 
nomenon in  this  country.  He  has,  with  a  boldness 
that  characterizes  an  enterprising  oommander  and 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


141 


legislator,  even  struck  at  those  old  habits  among  a 
people,  so  dangerous  to  be  meddled  with.  Envy  is 
the  natural  concomitant  of  such  merit,  and  O'Reilly 
has  probably  greater  friends  and  enemies  at  the  court 
of  Madrid,  than  any  other  character  in  the  kingdom  ; 
and  both  parties  had  a  fair  opportunity  of  contesting 
their  ascendency,  after  the  miscarriage  of  the  late 
descent  against  the  Moors;  but  his  "  ,  uering  his 
court  enemies  at  home  fully  compensated  that  misfor- 
tune abroad,  and  confirmed  his  fame,  nay,  added  to  its 
lustre.*  To  execute  all  these  great  matters,  O'Reilly 
is  not  the  man  you  would  suppose.  His  education  is 
contracted ;  he  is  capricious,  severe,  and  arrogant ; 
ordinary  in  his  person,  and  forbidding  in  his  address. 

"  The  exhibition  of  the  bull-fights  is  in  a  spacious 
amphitheatre,  that  will  accommodate  twelve  thousand 
spectators.  The  horsemen  display  more  skill  and 
courage,  than  the  footmen.  But  it  is  a  barbarous 
amusement.  There  are  many  Irish  inhabitants  here, 
all  of  whom  are  particularly  friendly  to  Americans. 
I  am  now  writing  at  the  house  of  Mr  Harrison,  hand- 
somely situated  on  the  side  of  the  Alameda.  I  take  a 
family  dinner  with  him  to-day,  having  already  taken 


*  This  alludes  to  an  attack  by  the  Spaniards  on  Algiers  in  the  year 
1775.  A  formidable  armament  of  six  ships  of  the  line,  twelve  frigates, 
a  large  number  of  smaller  vessels,  and  twentyfivc  thousand  men,  all 
under  the  command  of  the  Conde  de  O'Reilly,  formed  that  expedi- 
tion. A  large  part  of  the  army  was  landed,  and  a  partial  battlu  ensued, 
in  which  the  Spaniards  met  with  a  signal  nnd  most  disgraceful  defeat 
Severe  censures  were  passed  on  O'Reilly,  and  a  general  spirit  of  indig- 
nation existed  against  him  throughout  Spain,  but  the  weight  of  his 
talents,  and  his  influence  at  court,  enabled  him  to  triumph  over  hii 
enemies,  and  to  sustain  liimself  in  the  highest  stations. 


142 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


',; 


a  formal  one.  The  British  consul  also  receives  me 
with  great  politeness.  But  what  I  am  doing  among 
these  gentry,  with  only  half  a  dollar  and  four  reals  in 
my  pocket,  you  must,  with  me,  wait  for  time  to  C  - 
velope.  I  shall  soon  leave  this  place  for  fVance,  and 
my  route  will  be  either  up  the  Mediterranean  to  Mar- 
seilles, and  thence  on  the  grand  canal  west  to  Bour- 
deaux ;  or  along  the  coast  of  Spain  and  Portugal  by 
sea.  I  yesterday  conversed  with  an  Englishman,  who 
is  commissioned  to  treat  privately  with  our  States  in 
behalf  of  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  ;  but  if  I  can  per- 
suade him  to  send  his  Arabic  commission  back,  and 
join  me  with  his  cash  and  importance  at  Bordeaux,  or 
Nantz — .  The  preliminary  step  is  accomplished,  and 
he  is  now  somewhere  in  the  town  as  busy  in  the 
affair,  as  a  dozen  such  heads  as  mine  could  be." 

Since  no  more  is  heard  of  this  commissioner  from 
the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  it  is  presumed  the  prelimi- 
nary step  was  the  only  one  taken  in  the  business. 
Ledyard  remained  in  Cadiz,  apparently  waiting  for  a 
passage  either  to  Marseilles,  or  to  some  port  in  the 
west  of  France,  as  chance  might  offer.  He  wrote  to 
his  friends,  communicating  his  observations  on  what 
passed  around  him,  but  said  little  of  his  own  circum- 
stances or  prospects.  The  remarks  now  about  to  be 
quoted,  are  contained  in  a  letter  written  to  his  corres- 
pondent in  America,  after  he  had  been  two  weeks  at 
Cadiz,  and  are  not  more  curious  for  their  singularity, 
than  for  the  historical  hints  they  convey,  in  regard  to 
the  state  of  knowledge  and  feeling,  which  then  pre- 
vailed in  the  south  of  Europe,  respecting  the  United 
States. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


143 


*^  The  people  in  this,  as  in  other  parts  of  Europe, 
are  more  systematic  than  you  [Americans]  are  in 
everything.  Here  the  routine  of  life,  however  varied, 
is  still  uniform,  whether  composed  of  virtue  or 
vice,  wisdom  or  folly.  Before  dinner,  the  merchant, 
mechanic,  and  ordinary  laborer,  are  assiduously  intent 
on  their  different  employments.  After  dinner,  they 
as  regularly  devote  themselves  to  their  several  gratifi- 
cations, which  consist  either  of  conversation  or  sleep. 
The  opulent  and  polite  adopt  the  first.  At  a  polite 
table,  therefore,  you  hear  the  very  best  things  they 
are  capable  of  saying.  Here,  then,  I  am  told  you  err  in 
your  politics  ;  I  mean  that  kind  of  policy,  which  your 
independence  has  given  birth  to.  The  general  disap- 
probation of  your  present  government  on  this  score,  is 
the  sentiment  of  those,  who  are  subjects  of  other  na- 
tions, as  well  as  of  this ;  but  I  am  happy  to  say,  that 
1  have  found  no  character,  who  any  otherwise  thinks 
ill  of  you.  This  is  not  a  negative  regard,  bestowed 
on  a  people  they  think  cannot  approximate  their  im- 
portance, and  therefore  deserve  pity ;  it  is  a  positive 
one  ;  and  you  may  please  yourself  with  the  assurance 
of  its  originating  from  your  general  conduct  during 
the  war.  Another  feather  in  your  cap,  and  that  not 
an  obscure  one,  let  me  tell  you,  is  the  plain,  affable, 
and  honest  deportment  of  your  kinsfolk,  who  sojourn 
hereabout.  Brother  Jonathan  is  an  agreeable  singu- 
larity. These  observations,  which  you  are  included 
in,  did  not  come  from  the  cabinet  of  Charles,  or  the 
Pope,  who  no  doubt  hate  you  very  sincerely  ;  the  one 
for  your  laws,  which  he  fears ;  and  the  other  for  your 
religion,  which  he  is  unwise  enough  to  abominate. 


144 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


■  "  The  great  complaint,  which  people  make  against 
your  government  is  the  obscure,  unimportant,  unener- 
getic  investitures  of  Congress.  So  strongly  are  they 
impressed  with  the  idea  of  the  degree  of  power, 
which  Congress  ought  to  hold,  compared  with  what 
they  now  conceive  it  to  be  invested  with,  that  they 
declare  the  resolve  of  a  Boston  committee  commands 
more  immediate  attention  in  Cadiz,  than  a  congres- 
sional one  would  do ;  observing,  that  although  Con- 
gress claims  more  respectability,  it  only  demands 
what  it  ought  to  have,  and  not  what  it  is  possessed  of. 
They  further  add,  that  whatever  embarrassments  may 
attend  the  progress  of  a  young  nation,  and  however 
excusable  some  exigences  may  have  rendered  some 
parts  of  your  conduct,  yet  surely  the  leading  prelimi- 
naries, the  first  strong  outlines,  that  form  the  basis  of 
a  great  republic,  cannot  be  thus  lost  sight  of  without 
reflecting  on  your  councils.  Have  you  formed  even  a 
treaty  of  friendship  with  that  pestilential  meteor  in 
power,  Hamet,  Emperor  of  Morocco?  No.  Have 
you  in  your  own  right  a  Mediterranean  passport? 
No.  What  security  have  you  then  for  your  Straits- 
men  ?  The  savage,  Hamet,  knows  no  medium  in 
such  kind  of  friendship ;  never  dreamt  of  such  a 
thing  as  an  independent  neutrality.  What  will  you 
do  then  ?  Eat  all  your  flour,  cod,  spars,  and  potash, 
or  ransom  your  captivated  countrymen  at  fifteen 
hundred  pounds  a  head,  and  lose  your  produce  ? 
Hamet  wants  your  alliance.  Give  the  snarling  mas- 
tiff a  bone,  and  while  he  is  gnawing  it  you  can  do  as 
you  please.  It  is  certain,  that  your  unorganized  sys- 
tem of  government  is  here  much  talked  of,  and  you 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARDi 


145 


kftow  the  consequence  of  these  matters  being  much 
talked  of.  Your  paltry  state  schisms  are  considered  to 
be  such  vulgar  errors,  as  a  people  aiming  at  the  most 
refined  system  of  government  could  not  commit,  with- 
out the  imputation  of  perfect  insanity.  But  adieu, 
politics.  Indeed  I  know  not  what  humor  prompted 
me  to  offer  my  advice  to  you  in  this  way. 

"  If  the  incongruity  of  my  letter  bespeaks  a  pertur- 
bation of  mind,  it  will  not  deceive  you.  It  is  a 
cloudy  day  with  me.  However,  my  hobby  tells  me  it 
will  be  fair  weather  tomorrow  ;  and  I  believe  it,  be- 
cause I  wish  it.  You  will  probably  next  hear  from 
me  in  France.  In  the  mean  time,  let  me  make  sure 
of  one  circumstance,  and  if  tomorrow  bring  its  mis- 
fortunes, they  will  be  less  severe,  when  I  reflect  on 
having  said  to  those  I  know  will  believe  mcj  that  no 
evil,  till  that  which  is  esteemed  the  last  of  evils,  can 
ever  obliterate,  or  even  obscure,  that  lasting  affection 
and  esteem,  which  I  have  for  you  and  your  best  of 
brothers.    My  other  remembrances  I  commit  to  your 


» 


care. 

He  remained  in  Cadiz  but  a  few  days  after  this  letter 
was  written,  when  he  somewhat  unexpectedly  procur- 
ed a  passage  for  Brest,  on  board  the  French  ship 
Bourbon.  It  was  rare  for  him  to  be  out  of  health, 
but  in  Cadiz  he  was  attacked  with  a  fever,  which  had 
scracely  left  him  when  he  went  to  sea.  While  on 
board  he  writes,  "  My  fever  was  in  consequence  of  a 
slight  cold  originally,  and  heightened  by  a  fit  of  un- 
common melancholy ;  but  I  am  getting  about  again^ 
iind  excepting  a  slight  debility,  and  some  of  Cook's 
rheumatism  in  my  bones,  I  am  welK"  His  spirits 
It 


r.k  ' 


146 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


DwHlPan^^ 

ma 

were  not  unfrequently  oppressed,  when  the  variotis 
turns  in  his  affairs  left  him  inactive,  with  precarious 
means  of  support,  and  uncertain  as  to  the  future  ;  but 
he  took  great  pains  to  conceal  the  symptoms  of  gloom 
from  his  friends.  They  are  occasionally  discovered 
in  his  letters,  rather  from  his  forced  attempts  to  be 
cheerful  and  gay,  when  it  is  evident  by  the  general 
tenor  of  his  thoughts,  that  his  heart  is  sad,  than  from 
any  formal  complaints  of  his  ill  fortune,  or  repinings 
at  the  will  of  Providence.  He  was  now  visiting 
Europe  in  the.  prosecution  of  what  he  deemed  a  noble 
and  important  enterprise ;  but  he  was  going  among 
strangers,  who  could  only  be  induced  to  listen  to  his 
proposals  by  motives  of  interest,  and  whom  he  must 
inspire  with  some  portion  of  his  own  enthusiasm,  be- 
fore they  could  be  expected  to  favor  his  schemes,  or 
even  comprehend  his  views.  The  task  thus  presented 
to  him  was  disheartening.  But  however  despondency 
might  sometimes  give  a  hue  to  his  thoughts,  he  never 
suffered  it  to  weaken  his  resolution,  or  repress  his 
ardor.  The  great  object  of  pursuit  was  never  lost  sight 
of,  while  his  way  to  its  accomplishment  was  lighted  by 
a  gleam  of  hope.  The  whole  force  of  his  mind  was 
now  bent  upon  a  voyage  of  trade  and  discovery  to 
the  Northwest  Coast.  He  was  powerfully  impressed 
with  the  belief,  that  such  an  enterprise  would  redound 
to  the  honor  of  those  engaged  in  it,  and  confer  new 
benefits  upon  the  commercial  world  ;  and  was  not  a 
little  chagrined  at  the  small  encouragement,  which  his 
strenuous  exertions  had  received  in  his  own  country. 

In  this  state  of  mind  it  is  no  wonder,  that  he  should 
express  himself  in  the   following  language  on   his 


B 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


147 


voyage  to  Brest.  "  I  saw  an  English  gentleman  at 
Cadiz,  who  assured  me,  that  about  six  months  past  a 
ship  of  seven  hundred  tons,  commissioned  by  the  Em- 
press of  Russia,  was  fitted  out  in  the  English  Thames 
on  a  voyage  to  the  back  parts  of  America  ;  that  she 
was  armed,  and  commanded  by  a  Russian,  and  that 
some  of  her  officers  were  those,  who  had  been  with 
Cook.  You  see  the  business  deserves  the  attention  I 
have  endeavorfi,  and  am  still  striving  to  give  it ;  and 
had  Morris  not  shrunk  behind  a  trifliig  obstruction,  I 
should  have  been  happy,  and  America  would  this  mo- 
ment be  triumphantly  displaying  her  flag  in  t!ie  most 
remote  and  beneficial  regions  of  commerce.  I  ?ua 
tired  of  my  vexations." 

He  arrived,  after  a  short  passage,  at  Bre  t,  and  set 
off  by  land  through  Quimper  to  L' Oriei  t.  "lam 
now  at  Quimper,"  he  writes,  *'  and  tomorrow,  if  my 
horses  please,  I  will  be  in  L'  Orient.  *  What  will  you 
do  there  ? '  The  best  I  can.  Brest  is  a  naval  arse- 
nal, but  not  so  respectable  as  I  had  imagined.  Mon- 
sieur de  Kerguelen,  the  great  navigator,  lives  within 
nine  miles  of  me,  but  a  Holland  consul  has  me  by  the 
button,  and  I  cannot  see  him.  The  dialect  of  Bre- 
tagne  has  some  resemblance  bofti  to  the  Irish  and 
Welsh.  But,  good  night ;  I  must  sleep.  Tired  na- 
ture will  have  it  so."  From  Quimper  he  proceeded 
to  L'  Orient,  where  he  immediately  began  to  put  his 
affairs  in  train. 

The  letters  he  I  rought  with  him  from  respectable 
sources,  procured  him  a  speedy  acquaintance  with  gen- 
tlemen of  the  first  character  in  the  place ;  and  his  plan 
was  received  with  so  much  approbation,  that  within 


i:|r:^^^l 

'^uj^H^Hh 

fl'i^^mmit 

M  H^^:' 

I  i  'I^Hk, 

K  g   ^^^^^ 

MBBk 

llksM  B^^B^' 

hHb  ^^^^^Hf^ji 

KmB 

m 


li,8 


LtF£  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


IJi', '"' 


twelve  days  he  completed  a  negotiation  with  a  com-* 
pany  of  merchants,  and  a  ship  was  selected  foi[  the  in- 
tended voyage.  Mutual  engagements  were  enter- 
ed into  by  the  parties,  and  everything  seemed  to 
wear  the  most  promising  aspect.  So  unaccustomed 
had  he  been  to  such  good  fortune,  that  he  could  hard- 
ly realize  at  first  the  happy  issue  of  events  as  they 
then  stood.  "  I  have  been  so  much  the  sport  of  ac- 
cident," said  he,  "  that  I  am  exceedingly  suspicious. 
It  is  true,  that  in  this  L'  Orient  negotiation,  I  have 
guarded  every. avenue  to  future  disappointment,  with 
all  possible  caution  ;  yet  this  head  I  wear,  is  so  much 
a  dupe  to  my  heart,  and  at  other  times  my  heart  is  so 
bewildered  by  my  head,  that  in  matters  of  business  I 
have  not  much  confidence  in  either."  He  then  speaks 
of  the  point  to  which  the  negotiation  had  been  brought, 
and  adds,  "  but  here  comes  a  but, — ah,  these  buts ; 
pray  Heaven  they  may  not  but  the  modicum  of  brains 
out  of  my  head,  which  Morris  has  left  there.  The 
hut  is  this.  I  have  arrived  so  late  in  the  season,  that 
the  merchants  have  procrastinated  the  equipment  un- 
til next  summer,  and  requested  me  to  stay  here  till 
then,  allowing  me  genteelly  for  thnt  purpose.  And 
were  I  but  certain,  that  no  cruel  misfortune  would 
eventually  happen,  I  should  be  quite  happy,  for  present 
appearances  could  not  be  better.  Upon  any  consider- 
ation, it  is  for  my  interest  to  wait  the  event ;  and  as  I 
hourly  perceive  the  folly  of  repining  at  a  disappointed 
wish,  or,  indeed,  of  suffering  what  I  may  happen  to  call 
misfortune,  whether  present  or  anticipated,  to  meet 
any  other  reception  from  me,  than  the  most  undaunted 
which  my  experience  can  enable  me  to  meet  it  witht 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


149 


I  am  determined  to  sit  down,  not  despondingly,  de- 
jectedly, or  supinely — what  a  vile  row  of  adverbs — 
but  contemplatively,  cheerily,  and  industriously.  It 
seems  decreed  by  somewhat,  that  I  shall  be  driven 
about  the  world  in  a  most  untraversable  way ;  but  in 
whatever  clime  I  may  alight,  my  ardent  desire  is,  that 
the  friendship  of  my  friends  may  greet  me  well.  This 
done,  I  have  drunk  my  cordial,  and  there  is  not  a  richer 
in  France — and  only  in  America  one,  which  perfumed 
the  air  from  M —  to  Amboy  House." 

All  things  being  thus  arranged  to  his  mind,  and  hav- 
ing nothing  to  regret  but  the  procrastination  of  his 
voyage,  which  he  perceived  to  be  unavoidable,  he  re- 
solved to  spend  the  winter  in  L'  Orient,  and  be  in 
readiness  to  commence  preparations  the  moment  that 
the  season  would  admit.  It  was  now  October,  and 
the  opinion  of  the  merchants  was,  that  a  suitable  ves- 
sel could  not  be  obtained  and  properly  fitted  out  before 
the  succeeding  August.  Ten  months  for  such  an  ob- 
ject seemed  a  long  period  to  Ledyard,  as  well  in- 
deed they  might,  but  experience  had  taught  him  pa- 
tience ;  and  the  fair  prospects  held  out  by  this  nego- 
tiation, together  with  the  consideration,  that,  by  leav- 
ing France  at  the  close  of  summer,  he  would  pass 
round  Cape  Horn  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  the  most 
favorable  season,  reconciled  him  to  the  delay.  In  the 
mean  time,  being  supplied  with  a  liberal  income  by 
the  mercantile  company  mentioned  above,  he  frequent- 
ed the  best  society  in  L'  Orient,  to  whom  his  exten- 
sive knowledge  of  the  world,  his  general  intelligence, 
unpretending  manners,  and  frank  and  generous  tem- 
per^  always  made  him  acceptable'    Nothing  occurred 


it  f 


150 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


to  interrupt  his  happiness,  or  darken  his  hopes,  during 
the  four  months  that  followed,  except  occasional  re- 
flections on  the  time  that  had  been  lost  in  his  fruitless 
endeavors,  and  the  glory  that  others  were  reaping  in 
the  field  of  discovery,  which  he  ought  to  have  been 
the  first  to  explore. 

"  I  wrote  you  last,"  says  he,  "  that  a  Russian  ship 
had  been  sent  into  that  part  of  the  vast  Pacific  Ocean. 
Four  nights  ago,  I  saw  a  Russian  gentleman  from 
Petersburg,  who  informed  me  of  two  ships  having 
been  sent  thither.  In  our  yesterday's  paper,  it  is  said 
that  the  ship  Seahorse,  belonging  to  the  English  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  had  made  a  voyage  thither,  and 
returned  well.  You  see  what  honorable  testimonies 
daily  transpire  to  evince,  that  I  am  no  otherwise  the 
mad,  romantic,  dreaming  Ledyard,  than  in  the  estima- 
tion of  those  who  thought  me  so.  The  flame  of 
enterprise,  that  I  kindled  in  America,  terminated  in  a 
flash,  that  bespoke  little  foresight  or  resolution  in  my 
patrons.  Perseverance  was  an  effort  of  understand- 
ing, which  twelve  rich  merchants  were  incapable  of 
making ;  and  whether  I  now  succeed  or  not,  the  obsta- 
cles I  have  surmounted,  to  reach  my  present  attain- 
ment, infer  some  small  merit,  which  I  do  not  blush  to 
own  among  my  private  pleasures." 

The  winter  soon  passed  away,  and  near  the  end  of 
February  measures  began  to  be  taken  for  equipping  the 
vessel  for  sea.  It  was  intended,  that  a  commission 
from  the  king  should  be  obtained  to  sail  on  a  voyage 
of  discovery.  Some  advantages,  it  was  supposed, 
would  thus  be  derived  to  the  mercantile  interests  of 
the  voyage,  as  the  vessel  would  be  clothed  with  a 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


151 


i 


public  character,  and  from  this  circumstance  ensure  a 
greater  respevt  f  om  any  foreigners  she  might  fall  in 
with,  as  well  as  enable  the  owners  to  claim,  in  the 
name  of  the  King  of  France,  any  islands  or  unknown 
regions,  that  might  be  actually  discovered.  A  memo- 
rial, and  other  suitable  papers,  were  sent  to  the  king's 
ministers,  applying  for  such  a  privilege,  and  for  letters 
of  recommendation  to  the  European  public  agents 
residing  in  those  parts  of  the  world,  at  which  the  ves- 
sel would  probably  touch.  On  the  twentythird  of 
February,  1785,  Ledyard  wrote  to  his  brothers  from 
L'Orient ;  "  My  affairs  in  France  are  likely  to  proVie 
of  the  greatest  honor  and  advantage  to  me.  I  have  a 
fine  ship  of  four  hundred  tons,  and  in  August  next  I 
expect  to  sail  ca  another  voyage  round  the  world,  at 
the  end  of  which,  if  Heaven  is  propitious  to  me,  I  hope 
to  see  you.  In  the  mean  time,  may  the  God  of  nature 
spread  his  mantle  over  you  all.  If  I  never  see  you 
more,  it  shall  be  well ;  if  I  do,  it  shall  be  well ;  so  be 
happy  and  of  good  cheer."  From  this  tone  of  his 
feelings,  it  is  evident  that  his  heart  was  light,  and  his 
hopes  high.  Up  to  this  point  all  things  had  proceeded 
according  to  his  expectations  and  wishes ;  he  had 
passed  an  agreeable  winter  in  a  social  and  refined  cir- 
cle of  friends,  and  he  began  now  to  enjoy  in  anticipa- 
tion  the  triumphs  of  his  zeal  and  perseverance. 

l^ut  unfortunately  this  flattering  vision  was  soon  to 
be  dissipated,  like  the  many  others,  by  which  he  had 
been  elated  and  deceived  ;  again  was  he  to  be  made, 
in  his  own  phrase,  **  the  sport  of  accident ; "  again 
was  the  burden  of  a  cruel  disappointment  to  weigh 
on  his  spirits,  and  disturb  his  repose.    After  the 


If 
III 


152: 


Ltl'E  OF  JOHN  LEDTARt)^ 


1): 


date  of  the  above  letter,  we  hear  no  more  of  the 
L'Orient  negotiation,  except  that  it  failed.  Whether 
this  result,  so  desolating  to  the  hopes  of  our  adven- 
turer, was  produced  by  the  caprice  of  the  merchants^ 
who  had  united  with  him  in  the  undertaking,  or 
by  any  sudden  change  in  their  affairs,  which  took 
from  them  the  ability  of  fulfilling  their  contract,  or 
by  the  refusal  of  the  government  to  grant  such  a 
commission  as  was  expected,  or  by  all  these  com- 
bined, is  not  known.  It  is  enough,  that  the  voy- 
age was  entirely  abandoned,  and  Ledyard  was  left 
with  no  other  recompense  for  this  new  vexation,  than 
his  own  mortified  feelings,  and  the  prospects  of  a  fu^ 
ture  too  gloomy  even  for  him  to  contemplate  unmoved. 
The  slender  stock  of  money,  with  which  he  landed  in 
Europe,  was  completely  exhausted ;  he  could  expect 
no  more  from  the  L'Orient  merchants,  nor  from  any 
other  quarter ;  and,  what  afflicted  him  more  severely 
than  all  the  rest,  the  last  resort  for  carrying  into  effect 
his  darling  plan  of  northwestern  discovery  and  trade^ 
had  been  tried  in  vain.  No  consolation  remained 
for  his  baffled  purposes  and  wasted  zeal.  Yet  fifteen 
years'  experience,  in  buffeting  the  rough  and  some- 
times perilous  current  of  life,  had  taught  him  other 
lessons  than  those  of  despondency,  and  nerved  him 
for  other  deeds  than  a  tame  submission  to  the  control 
of  untoward  circumstances.  His  bewildering  doubts, 
as  to  what  course  he  should  pursue,  detained  him  a 
short  tiuie  in  L'Orient.  He  looked  to  Paris  as  the 
theatre,  on  which  he  would  be  most  likely  to  better 
his  fortunes,  and  after  his  concerns  relative  to  the 
voyage  were  closed,  he  hastened  to  that  capital. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


153 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Meets  with  Mr  JefTerson  at  Paris. — Project  of  a  voyage  to  the  Northwest  Coast 
with  Paul  JoDes,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  trading  factory  there.— 
Proposes  travelling  across  the  continent  from  Nootka  Sound  to  the  United 
States. — Thinks  of  going  to  Africa  with  Mr  Lamb. — Remarks  dn  Paris,  and 
various  objects  that  came  under  his  notice. — The  King  at  Versailles. — Mr 
Jefferson  and  Lafayette. — Th  ■  Queen  at  St  Cloud. — Application  through 
Baron  Grimm  to  the  Empress  of  Russia,  to  obtain  permission  for  him  to  travel 
across  her  dominions  to  Bering's  Strait. — Colonel  Humphreys. — Contemplates 
going  to  Petersburg,  before  the  Empress'  answer  is  received. — Curious 
anecdote  of  Sir  James  Hall. — Visit  to  the  hospitals  in  Paris. — Tour  in  Nor- 
mandy.— Proceeds  to  London,  where  ho  engages  a  passage  on  board  a  vessel 
just  ready  to  sail  for  the  Northwest  Coast. — Colonel  Smith's  letter  to  Mr 
Jay. — The  voyage  defeated. — Resolves  anew  to  go  to  Russia. — Sir  Joseph 
Banks  and  other  gentlemen  contribute  funds  to  aid  hun  in  his  travels. 

At  this  time  Mr  Jefferson  was  minister  from  the 
United  States  at  the  court  of  France.  That  patriot, 
equally  ardent  in  the  love  of  science,  and  friendly  to 
every  enterprise,  which  had  for  its  object  the  improve- 
ment of  his  country,  received  Ledyard  with  great 
kindness,  and  approved  most  highly  his  design  of  an 
expedition  to  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America.  He 
perceived  at  once  the  advantages,  that  would  flow  from 
such  a  voyage,  not  merely  in  its  immediate  mercantile 
ri  suits,  but  in  its  bearing  on  the  future  commerce  and 
political  interests  of  the  United  States.  No  part  of 
that  wide  region  had  then  been  explored,  nor  any 
formal  possession  taken  of  it,  except  the  few  points 
at  which  Cook's  vessels  had  touched,  and  others 
where  the  Russians  possessed  small  establishments  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade  with  the  Indians. 
These  latter  were  also  probably  confined  to  the 
20 


M 


154 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


islands.  To  a  statesman  like  Mr  Jefferson  it  was 
evident,  that  a  large  portion  of  that  immense  country, 
separated  from  the  United  States  by  no  barrier  of 
nature,  would  eventually  be  embraced  in  their  territory. 
He  was  convinced  of  the  propriety,  therefore,  of  its 
being  explored  by  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and 
regretted  the  failure  of  Ledyard's  attempts  in  his 
own  country  to  engage  in  a  voyage  before  the  same 
thing  had  been  meditated  anywhere  else.  These 
views  were  deeply  impressed  on  the  mind  of  Mr 
Jefferson,  and  in  them  originated  the  journey  of  Lewis 
and  Clark  over  land  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  twenty 
years  afterwards,  which  was  projected  by  him,  and 
prosecuted  under  his  auspices. 

Ledyard  had  not  been  many  days  in  France,  before 
he  became  acquainted  with  Paul  Jones,  at  that  time 
acting  under  a  commission  from  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  to  demand  the  amount  of  certain  prizes, 
which  he  had  taken  during  the  war,  particularly  in  the 
famous  capture  of  the  Serapis  and  the  Countess  of 
Scarborough,  and  sent  into  French  ports.  This  intre- 
pid adventurer,  being  now  unemployed  in  any  military 
or  public  service,  eagerly  seized  Ledyard's  idea,  and 
an  arrangement  was  closed,  by  which  they  agreed  to 
unite  in  an  expedition,  on  a  scale  somewhat  larger 
than  Ledyard  had  before  contemplated.  Two  vessels 
were  to  be  fitted  out,  and,  if  possible,  commissioned 
by  the  king.  Jones  was  to  use  his  influence  at  court, 
to  persuade  the  government  to  enlist  in  the  enterprise, 
or  at  least  to  furnish  the  vessels  and  the  requisite  naval 
armament.  If  this  could  not  be  effected,  it  was  re- 
solved that  the  outfits  should  be  reduced  within  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


165 


limits  of  Jones's  private  means,  and  the  two  partners 
would  act  wholl}'  on  their  own  responsibility  and  risk. 
If  it  should  be  found  necessary  to  pursue  the  enter- 
prise, on  their  private  account  alone,  the  two  vessels 
were  to  proceed  in  company  to  the  Northwest  Coast, 
and  commence  a  factory  there  under  the  American 
flag.  The  first  six  months  were  to  be  spent  in  col- 
lecting furs,  and  looking  out  for  a  suitable  spot  to  es- 
tablish  a  post,  either  on  the  main  land,  or  on  an  island. 
A  small  stockade  was  then  to  be  built,  in  which  Led- 
yard  was  to  be  left  with  a  surgeon,  an  assistant,  and 
twenty  soldiers ;  one  of  the  vessels  was  to  be  de- 
spatched, with  its  cargo  of  furs,  under  the  command  of 
Paul  Jones,  to  China,  while  the  other  was  to  remain  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  colllecting  of  another  cargo  during 
his  Jibsence.  Jones  was  to  return  with  both  the  vessels 
to  China,  sell  their  cargoes  of  furs,  load  them  with 
silks  and  teas,  and  continue  his  voyage  round  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Europe,  or  the  United  States. 
He  was  then  to  replei)ish  his  vessels  with  suitable 
articles  for  traffic  with  the  Indians,  and  proceed  as 
expeditiously  as  possible  round  Cape  Horn,  to  the 
point  of  his  departure  in  the  Northern  Pacific.  Mean- 
time Ledyard  and  his  party  were  to  employ  themselves 
in  purchasing  furs,  cultivating  a  good  understanding 
with  the  natives,  and  making  such  discoveries  on  the 
coast,  as  their  situation  would  allow.  Ledyard  sup- 
posed he  should  be  absent  four  or  five  years,  and  per- 
haps six  or  seven.^ 


*  A  voyage  fVom  Canton  to  the  Northwest  Coast,  and  back  to  that 
port,  for  purposes  similar  to  those  meditated  by  Ledyard  and  Paul 


166 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


"^  Here  was  a  scheme,  that  might  give  full  scope  to 
the  imagination  of  the  two  heroes  by  whom  it  had 
been  conceived,  presenting  at  once  the  prospect  of 
hazard,  adventure,  fame,  and  profit.  They  dwelt  upon 
it  with  complacency,  and  so  much  was  Jones  taken 
with  it,  that  he  advanced  money  to  Ledyard  with 
which  to  purchase  a  part  of  the  cargo  for  the  outfit, 
even  before  he  had  applied  to  the  government  for  aid, 
being  determined  to  prosecute  it  at  his  own  risk  if  he 
failed  in  that  quarter.  But  at  this  moment,  his  affairs 
in  regard  to  the  prize-money  assumed  a  crisis,  which 
compelled  him  to  go  from  Paris  to  L'Orient,  where 
he  was  detained  nearly  three  months ;  and  although  he 
was  ultimately  successful,  yet  his  zeal  for  this  new 
scheme  gradually  cooled  down,  as  he  probably  found 
that  the  government  would  do  nothing  in  the  matter, 
and  that  his  private  fortune  was  not  adequate  to  so 
expensive  an  undertaking.  At  any  rate,  it  fell  through, 
and  after  four  or  five  months  of  suspense,  Ledyard  had 
the  renewed  mortification  of  another  disappointment, 
and  of  seeing  his  ardent  wishes  no  nearer  their  accom- 
plishment, than  when  he  left  L'Orient.  The  only 
advantage  he  had  derived  from  his  intercourse  with 
the  Chevalier,  was  an  allowance  of  money  sufficient 
for  his  maintenance,  which  Jones  had  stipulated  at 
the  commencement  of  the  negotiation,  and  which  he 
had  promptly  paid.  «- 


Jones,  was  performed  fourteen  years  afterwards  by  Captain  Bichard  J. 
Cleveland.  Whoever  would  understand  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of 
Buch  an  enterprise,  at  that  time,  will  be  pleased  with  reading  a  brief 
account  of  Captain  Cleveland's  voyage,  in  the  North  American  Review 
for  October,  1827.  No.  57. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


167 


Just  at  this  time  Mr  Lamb,  the  diplomatic  ag^nt 
appointed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to 
treat  with  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  arrived  in  Paris.  Led- 
yard  met  him  occasionally  at  Mr  Jefferson's,  took  an 
interest  in  his  mission,  and  had  serious  thoughts  of 
joining  him  and  going  to  Africa,  but  for  what  specific 
purpose  is  not  told.  The  lingering  desire,  however, 
of  still  being  able  to  conquer  the  fatality  of  circum- 
stances, which  had  hitherto  impeded  his  progress  to 
glory,  in  the  course  his  fancy  had  pictured  to  him, 
continued  to  sustain  him  with  the  hope  of  a  better 
turn  of  fortune,  and  to  urge  him  forward .  to  untried 
expedients.  r> 

In  Paris  he  associated  with  several  Americans,  who 
approved  and  encouraged  his  ardor,  and  whose  society 
afforded  him  consolation  in  the  midst  of  his  misfor- 
tunes, but  who  were  not  in  a  condition  to  promote  his 
wishes,  or  remove  his  embarrassments.  The  question, 
what  was  to  be  done,  which  he  had  so  often  been 
compelled  to  ask  himself,  in  cases  of  similar  extremity, 
now  recurred  anew,  and  with  as  small  a  prospect  as 
ever  of  its  being  answered  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
lull  his  apprehensions,  or  relieve  his  anxiety.  He 
determined  to  adventure  one  effort  more,  and  submit 
the  same  proposition  to  a  mercantile  company  in  Paris, 
which  he  had  done  in  L'Orient.  Some  progress  was 
made  in  an  attempt  to  organize  such  a  company,  but 
it  was  never  matured.  It  was  his  intention,  after  he 
had  visited  the  coast,  and  procured  a  full  cargo  of  furs, 
to  despatch  the  vessel  to  China  under  proper  officers, 
and  return  himself  across  the  continent  to  the  United 
States,  thus  accomplishing  the   double  object  of  a 


r, 


i 


158 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


{ 


lucrative  voyage,  and  a  tour  of  discovery  through  an 
unexplored  wilderness  of  four  thousand  miles  in  ex- 
tent. Afterwards  he  would  join  the  expedition  in  the 
company's  service,  either  in  France,  or  any  other  part 
of  the  world,  as  circumstances  might  dictate.  Such 
was  the  compass  of  his  desires ;  yet  he  would  have 
relinquished  the  idea  of  this  exploratory  tour,  and  re- 
joiced to  engage  in  a  voyage  merely  for  commercial 
ends,  if  even  that  could  have  been  effected. 

Several  months  were  passed  in  unavailing  efforts  to 
conquer  obstacles,  which  seemed  to  thicken  as  he  ad- 
vanced, and  in  vainly  striving  to  enlighten  ignorance 
and  overcome  prejudice,  till  his  perseverance  could 
hold  out  no  longer,  and  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the 
thought  of  a  voyage  by  sea  to  the  Northwest  Coast, 
either  for  trade  or  discovery.  He  continued  in  Paris, 
but  felt  himself,  as  he  really  was,  a  wanderer  without 
employment  or  motive.  With  Mf  Jefferson,  the 
Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  Mr  Barclay  the  American  con- 
sul, and  other  gentlemen  of  character  and  conse- 
quence, he  was  on  terms  of  intimacy.  In  this  society, 
and  enjoying  the  amusements  afforded  in  the  capital 
of  France,  his  time  passed  away  agreeably  enough, 
and  in  some  of  his  letters  he  speaks  of  his  happiness ; 
yet  he  was  far  from  being  satisfied  ;  he  suffered  under 
the  pressure  of  want  and  a  corroding  sense  of  depen- 
dence ;  and  occasionally  his  finances  were  at  so  low 
an  ebb,  that  he  was  compelled,  however  reluctantly,  to 
be  a  pensioner  on  the  bounty  of  his  friends.  So  dis- 
interested were  Lis  aims,  however,  and  so  entirely  did 
he  sacrifice  every  selfish  consideration  in  prosecuting 
them ;  so  benevolent  was  his  disposition,  and  so  en- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


159 


larged  his  views  of  serving  mankind,  that  no  one  con- 
sidered favors  of  this  sort  in  the  light  of  obligations 
conferred,  nor  so  much  acts  of  charity,  as  a  just  tri- 
bute to  the  singleness  of  his  heart,  the  generosity  of 
his  purposes,  and  the  effective  vrarmth  of  his  zeal. 

A  few  miscellaneous  extracts  from  his  letters,  writ- 
ten during  the  first  months  of  his  residence  in  Paris, 
may  properly  come  in  here.  They  will  give  some 
insight  into  his  occupations,  as  well  as  his  habit 
of  observing  events  and  objects  in  the  great  world 
around  him. 

"  Paris  is  situated  in  an  extended  plain,  rising  on 
all  sides  into  gradual  elevations,  and  some  little  hills 
happily  interspersed  in  the  borders  of  its  horizon.  Its 
extent,  viewed  from  the  tower  of  Notre  Dame,  ap- 
peared to  me  less  than  London,  though  it  must  be 
larger.  The  public  buildings  are  numerous,  and  some 
of  them  magnificent.  Paris  is  the  centre  of  France, 
and  its  centre  is  the  Palais  Royal,  the  resort  of  the 
greatest  virtues  and  the  greatest  vices  of  such  a  king- 
dom. It  is  France  in  miniature,  and  no  friend  to 
France  should  ever  see  it.  The  Tuilleries  afford  a 
consummate  display  of  artificial  elegance  and  gran- 
deur ;  the  gardens  of  the  Luxembourg  are  much  in- 
ferior. The  Boulevards  were  originally  fortifications, 
and  they  now  form  a  broad  way  that  surrounds  the 
city,  separating  it  from  the  suburbs.  It  is  well  lined 
with  fine  umbrageous  elms  on  each  side,  forming  a 
-beautiful  course  for  coaches  and  horsemen;  but  the 
farmers-general,  to  prevent  illicit  trade,  are  walling  it 
in,  at  the  expense  of  a  thousand  lamentations  of  the 
Parisians,  and  several  millions  of  livres.     I  have  been 


Ur 


m 


m 


I 


160 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


once  at  the  king's  library.  Papa  Franklin,  <\s  the 
French  here  call  him,  is  among  a  number  of  statues 
that  I  saw.  The  bust  of  Paul  Jones  is  also  there. 
Did  you  ever  know,  that  Captain  Jones  was  two  or 
three  nights  successively  crowned  with  laurels,  at  the 
great  Opera  House  in  Paris,  after  the  action  between 
the  Bon  Homme  Richard  and  the  Serapis  ? 

"  I  find  at  our  minister's  table  between  fifteen  and 
twenty  Americans,  inclusive  of  two  or  three  ladies. 
It  is  very  remarkable,  that  we  are  neither  despised  nor 
envied  for  our  love  of  liberty,  but  very  often  caressed. 
I  was  yesterday  at  Versailles.  It  was  the  feast  of  St 
Louis,  but  I  never  feasted  so  ill  in  my  life,  as  at  the 
hotel  where  I  dined,  and  never  paid  so  dear  for  a  din- 
ner. I  was  too  late  to  see  the  procession  of  the  king 
and  queen,  but  I  was  little  disappointed  on  that  ac- 
count, as  I  had  already  seen  those  baubles.  The 
king  I  saw  a  fortnight  before  to  very  great  advantage, 
being  near  to  him  while  he  was  shooting  partridges  in 
the  fields.  He  was  dressed  in  common  musqueto 
Irowsers,  a  short  linen  frock,  and  an  old  laced  hat 
without  a  cockade.  He  had  an  easy,  gentlemanly 
appearance  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  his  few  attend- 
ants, I  should  have  taken  him  for  the  captain  of  a 
merchant  ship,  amusing  himself  in  the  field.  The 
Palace  at  Versailles,  and  its  gardens,  are  an  ornament 
to  the  face  of  the  globe,  It  was  dirty  weather.  I 
wore  boots,  and  consequently  was  prohibited  from 
visiting  the  galleries.  I  was  in  company  with  our 
Mr  Barclay,  Colonel  Franks  of  the  American  army,  a 
young  Virginian,  and  an  English  sea  officer.  Franks 
was  booted  too ;  but  though  honest  Tom  Barclay  was 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


161 


trom 
our 

inks 
was 


not,  he  had  no  bag  on,  and  they  were  dismissed  also ; 
so  that  boots  on,  and  bags  off,  are  sad  recommendations 
at  the  court  of  Versailles." 

"  if  the  two  Fitzhughs  remain  in  town  a  week 
longer,  you  shall  have  a  week's  detail.  They  dine 
with  me  to  day  in  my  chamber,  together  with  our 
worthy  consul  Barclay,  and  that  lump  of  universality, 
Colonel  Franks.  But  such  a  set  of  moneyless  rascals 
have  never  appeared,  since  the  epoch  of  the  happy 
villain  Falstaff.  I  have  but  five  French  crowns  in  the 
world ;  Franks  has  not  a  sol ;  and  the  Fitzhughs 
cannot  get  their  tobacco  money. 

"  Mr  Jefferson  is  an  able  minister,  and  our  country 
may  repose  a  confidence  in  him  equal  to  their  best 
wishes.  Whether  in  public  or  private,  he  is  in  every 
word  and  every  action,  the  representative  of  a  young, 
vigorous,  and  determined  state.  His  only  competitors 
here,  even  in  political  fame,  are  Vergennes  and  La 
Fayette.  In  other  accomplishments  he  stands  alone. 
The  Marquis  de  la  Fayette  is  one  of  the  most  growing 
characters  in  this  kingdom.  He  has  planted  a  tree  in 
America,  and  sits  under  its  shade  at  Versailles.  He 
is  now  at  the  court  of  old  Frederick.  I  am  sure,  that 
you  could  not  yourself  have  manifested  more  alacrity 
to  serve  me,  than  he  has  done.  The  Marquis  is  a 
warm  friend  to  America.  It  will  be  difficult  for  any 
subsequent  plenipotentiary  to  have  as  much  personal 
influence  in  France,  as  Dr  Franklin  had ;  it  will  at 
least  be  so,  till  the  causes,  which  created  that  venerable 
patriot's  ascendency,  shall  become  less  recent  in  the 
minds  of  the  people.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being-  but 
once  at  his  house,  before  his  departure,  and  although 


tl 


1^; 


' 


Ify 


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tliilllil 


I 


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'     /-H; 


'I 


162 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


bent  down  with  age  and  infirmities,  the  excellent  old 
man  exhibited  all  the  good  cheer  of  health,  the  gay 
philosopher,  and  the  kindness  of  a  friendly  coun- 
tryman." 

"  It  has  been  a  holiday  to  day  ;  the  nativity  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  My  friend,  the  Abbe  D'Aubrey,  tells 
me,  that  they  have  but  eightytwo  holidays  in  the  year, 
which  are  publicly  regarded  ;  but  this  is  a  mistake  ; 
they  have  more.  We  both  agree,  that  they  have 
eightytwo  less  than  they  formerly  had.  There  are 
certainly  a  hundred  days  in  this  city  every  year, 
whereon  all  the  shops  are  shut,  and  there  is  a  general 
suspension  of  business ;  for  the  good  policy  of  which, 
let  them  look  to  it.  You  will  hear  in  your  papers  of  an 
affair,  between  a  certain  Cardinal  and  th"  Queen  of 
France.  It  has  been  the  topic  of  conversation  here 
for  thirty  days ;  and  forty  fools,  that  have  expressed 
themselves  too  freely  in  the  matter  for  the  police,  are 
already  in  the  Bastile.  We  have  news  to  day,  that 
the  king  will  have  him  tried  by  vhe  Parliament,  and 
has  written  to  that  dying  meteor,  the  Pope,  not  to 
meddle  in  the  business."  • 

"  I  was  late  home  yesterday  evening  from  the  feast 
of  St  Cloud,  held  at  a  little  town  of  that  name  on 
the  bank  of  the  Seine.  It  is  particularly  remarkable 
for  having  the  Queen's  Gardens  in  it,  and  a  house 
for  the  Queen,  called  a  Palace.  The  chief  circum- 
stance, which  renders  the  village  a  place  of  curiosity 
to  strangers,  is  the  waterworks,  which,  after  the  labor 
of  many  years  and  vast  expense,  exhibit  a  sickly  cas- 
cade, and  three  jets  d?eau,  or  fountains,  that  cast  water 
into  the  air.     The  largest  of  these  throws  out  a  col- 


■1^ 


LIFE  OF   JOHN    LEDYARD. 


163 


umn  as  big  as  a  man's  arm,  which  rises  about  thirty 
yards.  In  the  evening  I  entered  a  part  of  the  gardens, 
where  some  fireworks  were  played  off.  The  tickets 
were  twentyfoiir  sols.  The  fireworks  were  very  few, 
but  good.  This  little  rustic  entertainment  of  the 
Queen's,  was  with  great  propriety  attended  with  very 
little  parade  about  her  person.  It  was  a  mere  rural 
revel,  and  never  before  did  I  see  majesty  and  tag-rag 
so  philosophically  blended  ;  a  few  country  fiddlers 
scraping,  and  Kate  of  the  mill  tripping  it  with  Dick 
of  the  vineyard.' 

"  Thus  you  see  how  some  few  of  my  days  pass 
away.  I  see  a  great  deal,  and  think  a  great  deal,  but 
derive  little  pleasure  from  either,  because  I  am  forced 
into  both,  and  am  alone  in  both." 

By  these  methods  he  endeavored  to  amuse  himself, 
and  forget  his  favorite  scheme  of  traversing  the  west- 
ern continent,  and  ascertaining  its  physical  character 
and  commercial  resources ;  but  this  was  not  possible  ; 
it  had  taken  too  strong  a  hold  of  him  to  admit  of 
being  driven  altogether  from  his  mind.  As  fate  seem- 
ed to  throw  difficulties  insurmountable  in  the  way  of 
a  passage  by  sea,  he  bethought  himself  of  the  only 
remaining  expedient,  by  which  a  part  of  his  original 
design  might  be  carried  into  execution  ;  and  that  was, 
to  ♦travel  by  land  through  the  northern  regions  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  cross  over  Bering's  Strait  to  the 
American  continent,  and  pursue  his  route  thoncc  down 
the  coast,  and  to  the  interior,  in  such  a  manner  as  the 
exigencies  of  his  condition  might  point  out  to  him 
when  on  the  spot. 


164 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


■^-^    *F 


The  first  object  requiring  attention,  was  to  gain 
permission  of  the  Empress  of  Russia  to  pass  through 
her  immense  territories  to  Kamtschatka.  Mr  Jeffer- 
son, who  heartily  approved  the  project,  interested 
himself  in  this  preliminary  measure,  and  applied  to 
M.  de  Simoulin,  minister  plenipotentiary  from  Russia 
at  the  court  of  France,  and  especially  to  the  Baron  de 
Grimm,  minister  from  Saxe-Gotha  at  the  same  court. 
Grimm  was  a  correspondent  and  private  agent  of  the 
Empress,  and  would  be  likely  to  have  as  much  influ- 
ence with  her.  in  a  matter  of  this  sort,  as  her  public 
minister.  Both  these  gentlemen  very  readily  acceded 
to  Mr  Jefferson's  request,  and  made  in  his  name  a 
direct  application  to  the  Empress,  soliciting  permis- 
sion for  Ledyard,  in  the  character  of  an  American 
citizen,  to  travel  through  her  dominions.  As  haste  is 
not  a  characteristic  of  transactions  of  this  sort  with 
crowned  heads,  the  impatient  traveller  resolved  to 
busy  himself  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  at  least  till 
a  reasonable  time  should  elapse  for  a  reply.  In  the 
interim  he  retired  to  St  Germain,  where  he  after- 
wards commonly  resided  during  his  stay  in  France. 
The  letter,  which  contains  the  following  passages,  is 
dated  at  St  Germain,  on  the  eighth  of  April,  1706. 

"  If  Congress  should  yet  be  at  New  York,  this  will  bu 
delive'ed  to  you  by  my  friend,  and  almost  every  body's 
friend,  Colonel  Huniphrcvs,  whom  you  kntw  in  days 
of  yore.  He  is  serret.«r)  to  our  logation  at  the  court 
of  F;ance,  has  a  good  head  and  a  good  heart ;  but  his 
hobby  is  poetry,  and  as  the  English  reviewers  allow  him 
merit  (herein,  I  mny  very  safely  venture  to  do  it.  He  is 
a  friendly,  good  soul,  a  shicerc  yankee,  and  so  affection- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


166 


ately  fond  of  his  country,  that  to  be  in  his  society  here 
is  at  least  as  good  to  me,  as  a  dream  of  being  at  home. 
I  imagine  he  takes  despatches,  but  as  we  are  republi- 
cans a  little  more  polished,  than  on  your  side  of  the 
water,  we  nef«r  presume  to  ask  impertinent  questions. 
"  You  have  doubtless  by  this  time  received  my  let- 
ters by  Mr  Barrett.  Your  hearing  from  me  so  often 
by  those,  who  intimately  know  my  situation,  and  who 
are  so  much  my  friends,  is  a  happy  circumstance  ;  but 
I  would  freely  have  relinquished  the  pleasure,  which  I 
take  in  writing  this  letter,  to  have  been  where  I  sup- 
posed I  should  be  when  I  wrote  you  last.  But  soon 
after  the  departure  of  Mr  Barrett,  our  minister,  the 
Russian  minister,  and  the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  tocls: 
it  into  their  heads,  that  I  should  not  go  directly  to 
Petersburg,  but  wait  till  I  was  sent  for,  which  is  the 
occasion  of  my  being  here  to  write  you  at  this  time. 
You  see  that  I  have  so  many  friends,  that  I  cannot  do 
just  as  I  please.  I  am  very  well  in  health.  A  gra- 
cious Providence,  and  the  Indian  cyxn  diet  of  my 
childhood,  added  to  the  robust  scent-  ^  h-we  since 
passed  through,  have  left  me  i:  tl .;  ami'  .ij^e  a': 
which  my  father  died,  '  healthy,  r'.'^t'vc,  vigo  »us,  and 
strong.'  *  I  am  for  a  few  wee '.s  at  the  lit> '/^  town 
where  my  letter  is  dated,  and  as  i  livr  upon  the  skirt 
of  a  royal  forest,  I  am  every  day  »n  it,  and  it  is  usual 
for  me  to  run  two  mifes  an  end  and  r  )turn.  I  am  like 
one  of  Swift's  Houyhnhnms.  Ask  JHumphrcys  if  I 
did  not  walk  into  Paris  last  week,  and  return  to  dino 
with  Madam  Barclay  the  same  morning,  a  uistunce 


%i 


1^ 
.1' 


*  A  lino  from  his  father*^  tombstone ;  ho  died  at  tho  ogo  of  thirtyfive. 


m . 


y:fm 


166 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


equal  at  least  to  twentyfour  of  our  miles.  But  this  is 
not  the  work  of  nature ;  she  made  me  a  voluptuous, 
pensive  animal,  intended  for  the  tranquil  scenes  of 
domestic  life,  for  ease  and  contemplation,  and  a  thou- 
sand other  fine  soft  matters,  that  I  have  thought 
nothing  about,  since  I  was  in  love  with  R.  £.  of  Ston- 
ington.  What  fate  intends  further,  I  leave  to  fate ; 
but  it  is  very  certain,  that  there  has  ever  been  a  great 
difference  between  the  manner  of  life  I  have  actually 
led,  and  that  which  I  should  have  chosen  ;  and  this  is 
not  to  be  attributed  more,  perhaps,  to  the  irregular  in- 
cidents that  have  alternately  caressed  and  insulted 
mci  than  to  the  irregularity  of  my  genius.  Tom 
Barclay,  our  consul,  who  kn^ws  mankind  and  me  very 
well,  tells  me  that  he  never  saw  such  a  medley  as  in 
me.  The  Virginian  gentlemen  here  call  me  Oliver 
Cromwell,  and  say,  that,  like  him,  I  shall  be  *  damn'd 
to  fame ; '  but  I  have  never  dared  to  prophesy,  how- 
ever, that  it  would  be  by  a  Virginian  poet. 

"  I  every  hour  expect  my  summons  to  Peters- 
burg from  the  Russian  minister.  I  shall  have  a  de- 
lightful season  to  pass  through  Germany,  though  it 
does  not  suit  my  tour  well.  1  shall  lose  a  season 
by  it.  I  am  not  certain  about  the  result  of  this  busi- 
ness, and  shall  not  be  perfectly  at  ease,  till  I  have  been 
introduced  to  the  Empress." 

From  a  remark  above,  it  may  be  inferred,  that 
Ledyard  wished  to  begin  his  journey  to  Petersburg 
before  any  intelligence  had  been  received  by  the 
Russian  minister  in  reply  to  his  application.  His 
principal  motive  doubtless  was,  that  he  might  take 
advantage  of  the  season,  and  reach  Siberia  so  fur  in 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


167 


anticipation  of  the  severest  parts  of  the  winter,  as  not 
to  be  blocked  up  for  several  months  by  the  snows  in 
that  frigid  region.  His  advisers  considered  such  a  step 
ill  judged,  inasmuch  as  a  formal  petition  had  been  sent 
to  the  Empress,  and  it  would  evince* a  want  of  proper 
respect  to  set  out  on  the  journey,  before  her  answer 
had  been  returned,  however  strong  might  be  the  prob- 
ability that  her  consent  would  be  granted.  These 
points  of  etiquette  were  overlooked  by  the  traveller, 
in  his  eagerness  to  be  on  the  road,  and  he  moreover 
thought  the  business  might  as  well  be  settled  at  the 
court  of  the  Empress  in  Petersburg,  as  through 
her  minister  in  Paris.  The  event  proved  his  impres- 
sions not  to  be  ill  founded.  His  forebodings  were 
verified,  for  he  was  kept  in  daily  expectation  for  more 
than  five  months,  without  receiving  an  answer,  or 
hearing  anything  on  the  subject  either  from  M.  de 
Simoulin,  or  the  Baron  de  Grimm.  His  last  letter 
from  France  is  a  very  long  one,  dated  at  St  Germain, 
the  eighth  of  Auj^ust,  1786.  It  touches  on  a  great 
variety  of  topics,  and  was  Wi  :1  ten  at  different  times. 

"  Since  I  wrote  to  you  by  Coloiiel  Humphreys," 
says  he  to  his  friend,  **  I  ha*  c  been  at  St  Germain, 
waiting  the  issue  of  my  affai;  at  Petersburg.  You 
wonder  by  what  means  I  exist,  having  brought  with 
me  to  Paris  this  time '  twelve  months  only  three 
louis  d'ors.  Ask  vice-consuls,  consuls,  ministers,  and 
plenipotentiaries,  all  of  whom  have  been  tributary  to 
me.  You  think  I  joki;.  No ;  upon  my  honor,  and, 
however  irreconcileable  to  my  temper,  disposition, 
and  education,  it  is  nevertheless  strictly  true.  Every 
day  of  tny  life,  my  dear  cuisin,  is  a  day  of  expectation. 


'..' 


ii 


■>  :»■< 


I 


^^^^^rmSMP: 


168 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


and  consequently  a  day  of  disappointment.  V/hethcr 
I  shall  have  a  morsel  of  bread  to  eat  at  the  end  of 
two  months,  is  as  much  an  uncertainty,  as  it  was  four- 
teen months  ago,  and  not  more  so.  The  near  ap- 
proach, that  I  have  so  often  made  to  e^h  extreme  of 
happiness  and  distress,  without  absolutely  entering 
into  either,  has  rendered  me  so  hardy,  that  I  can  meet 
either  with  composure. 

"  Permit  me  to  relate  to  you  an  incident.  About  a 
fortnight  ago,  Sir  James  Hall,  an  English  gentleman, 
on  his  way  from  Paris  to  Cherbourg,  stopped  his 
coach  at  our  door,  and  came  up  to  my  chamber.  I 
was  in  bed  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  having 
flung  on  my  robe  de  chambrct  I  met  him  at  the  door 
of  the  antechamber.  I  wc3  glad  to  see  him,  but  sur- 
prised. He  observed,  th?  t  he  had  endeavored  to  make 
up  his  opinion  of  me,  with  as  much  exactness  as  possi- 
ble, and  concluded  that  no  kind  of  visit  whatever 
would  surprise  mo.  I  could  do  no  otherwise  than 
remark,  that  his  opinion  surprised  me  at  least,  and  the 
conversation  took  another  turn.  In  walking  across  the 
chamber,  he  laughingly  put  his  hand  on  a  six  livrc 
piece  and  a  louis  d'or,  that  lay  on  my  table,  and  with 
a  half  stifled  blush,  asked  me  how  1  was  in  the  money 
wa>.  Blushes  commonly  beget  blushes,  and  I  blushed 
partly  because  ]h:  dii^  and  partly  on  other  accounts. 
*  If  lifioen  guiufRs,' said  ho,  interrupting  the  answer 
he  had  demanilcd,  *will  be  of  any  service  to  you, 
there  they  are,'  and  he  put  them  on  the  table.  *  I  am 
a  traveller  myself,  and  though  I  have  some  fortune  to 
support  my  travels,  yet  I  have  been  so  situated  as 
to  want  money,  which  you  ought  not  to  do.    You 


k 


his 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


169 


have  my  address  in  London.'  He  then  wished  me  a 
good  morning  and  left  me.  This  gentleman  was  a 
total  stranger  to  the  situation  of  my  finances,  and  one 
that  I  had  by  mere  accident  met  at  an  ordinary  in 
Paris.  We  hsid  conversed  together  several  times,  and 
he  once  senAis  carriage  for  me  to  dine  with  him.  I 
found  him  handsomely  lodged  in  the  best  Fauxbourg 
in  the  city.  Two  members  of  the  British  House  of 
Commons,  two  lords,  Beaumarchais,  and  several 
members  of  the  Royal  Academy,  were  at  his  table. 
He  had  seen  me  two  or  three  times  after  that,  and 
always  expressed  the  highest  opinion  of  the  tour  I  had 
determined  to  make,  and  said  he  would,  as  a  citizen 
of  the  world,  do  anything  in  his  power  to  promote 
it ;  but  I  had  no  more  idea  of  receiving  money  from 
him,  than  I  have  this  moment  of  receiving  it  from  Tip- 
poo  Saib.  However,  I  took  it  without  any  hesitation, 
and  told  him  I  would  be  as  complaisant  to  him,  if  ever 
occasion  offered." 

"  I  have  once  visited  the  Foundling  Hospital,  and 
the  Hospital  de  Dieu,  in  Paris ;  twice  1  never  shall. 
Not  all  the  morality  from  Confucius  to  Addison  could 
give  me  such  feelings.  Eighteen  foundlings  were 
brought  the  day  of  my  visit.  One  was  brought  in  while 
I  was  there.  Dear  little  innocents !  But  you  are, 
happily,  insensible  of  your  situations.  Wlieve  are  your 
unfortunnte  mothers  ?  Perhaps^  in  the  adjoining  hos- 
pital ;  they  have  to  feel  for  you  and  themselves  too. 
But  where  is  the  wretch,  the  villain,  the  monster —  ? 
I  was  not  six  minutes  in  the  house.  It  is  customary  to 
leave  a  few  ponce  ;  I  flung  down  six  livres  and  retired. 
Determined  to  persevere,  I  continued  my  visit  over 

22 
4 


,1  '■  ;■ 


I 


i|i 


';^i 


S.Ma 


J: 


170 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


I    Sf^'     lift 


the  way  to  the  Hospital  de  Dieu.  I  entered  first  the 
apartments  of  the  women.  Why  will  you,  my  dear 
sisters,  I  was  going  to  say  as  I  passed  along  between 
the  beds  in  ranks,  why  will  you  be — ^but  I  was  inter- 
rupted by  a  melancholy  figure,  that  ^m|Bared  at  its 
last  gasp,  or  already  dead.  *  She  's  dealf  said  I  to  a 
German  gentleman,  who  was  with  me,  *  and  nobody 
knows  or  cares  anything  about  it.'  We  approached 
the  bedside.  I  observed  a  slight  undulatory  motion  in 
one  of  the  jugular  arteries.  *  She  's  not  dead,'  said  I, 
and  siezed  her  hand  to  search  for  her  pulse.  I  hoped 
to  find  life,  but  it  was  gone.  The  word  dead  being 
again  pronounced,  brought  the  nuns  to  the  bed.  *  My 
God  ! '   exclaimed   the   head   nun,  *  she  's  dead  ; ' — 

*  Jesu,  Maria  ! '  exclaimed  the  other  nuns,  in  their  de- 
fence, *  she 's  dead.'  The  head  nun  scolded  the  others 
for  their  mal-attendance.     *  My  God  ! '  continued  she, 

*  she  is  dead  without  the  form.'  *  Dieu ! '  said  the  others, 

*  she  died  so  silently.'  *  Silence,'  said  the  elder,  *  per- 
haps she  is  not  dead ;  say  the  form.'  The  form  was 
said,  and  the  sheet  thrown  over  her  face." 

"  While  in  Normandy  1  was  at  the  seat  of  Conflans, 
the  successor  of  him,  who  was  so  unfortunate  in  a 
naval  affair  with  Hawke  of  England.  It  is  the  lord- 
ship of  the  manor.  The  peasants  live  and  die  at  the 
smiles  or  frowns  of  their  lord,  and,  avaricious  of  the 
former,  they  fly  to  communicate  to  him  any  uncommon 
occurrence  in  the  village  ;  and  such  they  thought  our 
arrival.  The  place,  to  be  sure,  is  very  remote,  and 
'  the  gentleman  I  accompanied,  who  was  an  English- 
man, rode  in  a  superb  manner.  His  coach  and  ser- 
vants were  in  a  very  elegant  stylo.     M.  Conflans  was 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


171 


informed  of  it.  On  that  day  it  was  my  turn  to  cater, 
and  the  little  country  taverns  in  France  are  such,  as 
oblige  one  to  cook  for  himself,  if  he  would  eat.  I  was 
consequently  very  busy  in  the  kitchen.  The  Otaheite 
marks  on  ■■hands  were  discovered ;  the  mistress 
and  the  m^os  asked  our  servants  the  history  of  so 
strange  a  sight.  They  were  answered  that  I  was  a 
gentleman,  who  had  been  round  the  world.  It  was 
enough ;  Conflans  knew  of  it,  and  sent  a  billet,  written 
in  good  English,  to  inquire  if  we  would  permit  him  the 
honor  of  seeing  us  at  his  mansion  ;  and,  if  he  could  be 
thus  distinguished,  he  would  come  and  wait  on  us 
thither  himself.  It  was  too  late ;  the  Englishman 
and  I  had  begun  pell-mell  upon  a  joint  of  roast.  If 
Jove  himself  had  sent  a  card  by  Blanchard  inviting  us, 
it  would  have  been  all  one.  We  would  honor  our- 
selves with  waiting  on  the  Marquis  de  Conflans  in  the 
evening.  We  did  so,  and  we  could  not  but  be  pleased 
with  the  reception  we  met  with ;  it  was  in  the  true 
character  of  a  French  nobleman."  * 

"  I  took  a  walk  to  Paris  this  morning,  and  saw  the 
Marquis  de  la  Fayette.  He  is  a  good  man,  this  same 
Marquis.  I  esteem  him,  and  even  love  him,  and  so  we 
all  do,  except  some  few,  who  worship  him.  I  make 
these  trips  to  Paris  often;  sometimes  to  dine  with 
this  amiable  Frenchman,  atid  sometimes  with  our 
minister,  who  is  a  brother  to  me.  I  am  too  much 
alive  to  care  and  ambition  to  sit  still.  The  unprofita- 
ble life  I  have  led  goads  me ;  I  would  willingly  crowd 
as  much  merit  as  possible  into  the  autumn  and  winter 
of  it.  Like  Milton's  hero  in  Paradise  Lost,  (who 
happens,  by  the  way,  to  be  the  evil  one  himself,)  it  be- 
hoves nie  now  to  use  both  our  and  sail  to  gain  my  port. 


ifi\. 


V:   V; ; 


Vi.  I 


ffl  1 


172 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


"  The  Paris  papers  of  to  day  announce  the  discov- 
ery of  some  valuable  gold  mines  in  Montgomery 
county,  Virginia,  which  I  rejoice  tp  hear ;  but  I  hope 
they  will  not  yield  too  much  of  it,  for,  as  Poor  Rich- 
ard says,  <  too  much  of  one  thing  is  itfKl  for  noth- 


Q^lnui 


ing.'  All  that  I  can  say  is,  that,  if  toa%uch  of  it  is 
as  bad  as  too  little,  the  Lord  help  you,  as  he  has  me, 
who,  in  spite  of  my  poverty,  am  hearty  and  cheerful. 
I  die  with  anxiety  to  be  on  the  back  of  the  American 
States,  after  having  either  come  from  or  penetrated  to 
the  Pacific  ocean.  There  is  an  extensive  field  for  the 
acquirement  of  honest  fame.  A  blush  of  generous 
regret  sits  on  my  cheek,  when  I  hear  of  any  discovery 
there,  which  I  have  had  no  part  in,  and  particularly  at 
this  auspicious  period.  The  American  Revolution  in- 
vites to  a  thorough  discovery  of  the  continent,  and  the 
honor  of  doing  it  would  become  a  foreigner,  but  a 
native  only  can  feel  the  genuine  pleasure  of  the 
achievement.  It  was  necessary,  that  a  European 
should  discover  the  existence  of  that  continent,  but, 
in  the  name  of  Amor  Patrice,  let  a  native  explore  its 
resources  and  boundaries.  It  is  my  wish  to  be  the 
man.  I  will  not  yet  resign  that  wish,  nor  my  preten- 
sions to  that  distinction.  Farewell  for  the  present. 
I  have  just  received  intelligence,  which  hurries  me  to 
London.  What  fate  intends  is  always  a  secret ;  forti- 
tude is  the  word.  I  leave  this  letter  with  my  brother 
and  my  father,  our  minister.  He  will  send  it  by  the 
first  conveyance.     Adieu." 

The  intelligence  here  alluded  to,  was  from  his  ec- 
centric friend,  Sir  James  Hall,  v/ho  had  returned  to 
London.    In  six  days  Ledyard  was  with  him  in  the 


*<». 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


173 


British  capital.  He  there  found  an  English  ship  in 
complete  readiness  to  sail  for  the  Pacific  ocean.  Sir 
James  Hall  introduced  him  to  the  owners,  who  imme- 
diately offered  him  a  free  passage  in  the  vessel,  with 
the  promise,«|Mpt  he  should  be  set  on  shore  at  any 
place  on  the  Wrthwest  Coast,  which  he  might  choose. 
The  merchants,  no  doubt,  hoped  to  profit  somewhat 
by  his  knowledge  and  experience,  and  he  could  not 
object  to  such  an  exchange,  as  these  were  his  only 
possessions.  One  of  Cook's  c  '  '^rs  was  also  going 
out  in  the  same  vessel.  The  d  ^  jefore  he  was  to  go 
on  board,  Ledyard  wrote  to  Mr  Jefferson  in  the  follow- 
ing animated  strain. 

"  Sir  James  Hall  presented  me  with  twenty  guineas 
pro  bono  publico.  I  bought  two  great  dogs,  an  Indian 
pipe,  and  a  hatchet.  My  want  of  time,  as  well  as 
of  money,  will  prevent  my  going  any  otherwise  than 
indifferently  equipped  for  such  an  enterprise ;  but  it  is 
certain,  that  I  shall  be  more  in  want  before  I  see  Vir- 
ginia. Why  should  I  repine  ?  You  know  how  much 
I  owe  the  amiable  la  Fayette.  Will  you  do  me  the 
honor  to  present  my  most  grateful  thanks  to  him  P  If 
I  find  in  my  travels  a  mountain,  as  much  elevated 
above  other  mountains,  as  he  is  above  ordinary  men,  I 
will  name  it  La  Fayette,  I  beg  the  honor,  also,  of  my 
compliments  to  Mr  Short,  who  has  been  my  friend, 
and  who,  like  the  good  widow  in  Scripture,  cast  in 
not  only  his  mite,  but  more  than  he  was  able,  for  my 
assistance." 

The  equipment  of  two  dogs,  an  Indian  pipe,  and  a 
hatchet,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  very  scanty  for  a 
journey  across  a  continent,  but  they  were  selected 


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LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


i? 


with  an  eye  to  their  uses.  The  dogs  would  be  his 
companions,  and  assist  him  in  taking  wild  animals  for 
food,  the  pipe  was  an  emblem  of  peace  to  the  Indians, 
and  the  hatchet  would  serve  many  purposes  of  conve- 
nience and  utility.  His  choice  couldflk  have  fallen, 
perhaps,  upon  three  more  essential  requisites  for  a 
solitary  traveller  among  savages  and  wild  beasts  ;  they 
would  enable  him  to  provide  for  his  defence,  and  pro- 
cure a  friendly  reception,  covering,  and  sustenance. 
All  these  were  necessary,  and  must  be  the  first  objects 
of  his  care.   - 

His  plan  was  fully  arranged  before  entering  the  ship. 
He  determined  to  land  at  Nootka  Sound,  where  he 
had  passed  some  time  with  Cook's  expedition,  and 
thence  strike  directly  into  the  interior,  and  pursue  his 
course  as  fortune  should  guide  him  to  Virginia.  By 
his  calculation,  the  voyage  and  tour  would  take  him 
about  three  years.  He  was  much  gratified  with  the 
reception  he  met  in  London,  and  particularly  from  Sir 
Joseph  Banks,  and  some  other  gentlemen  of  science, 
who  entered  warmly  into  his  designs.  It  was  believ- 
ed, that  his ''discoveries  would  not  fail  to  add  valuable 
improvements  to  geography  and  natural  history  ;  and 
there  was  a  romantic  daring  in  the  enterprise  itself, 
well  suited  to  gain  the  applause  of  ardent  and  liberal 
minds.  Thus  cncourap;ed,  his  enthusiasm  rose  higher 
than  ever,  and  his  impatience  to  embark  increased 
every  moment. 

While  in  Paris  the  precceding  year,  he  had  become 
acquainted  with  Colonel  Smith,  Secretary  of  Legation 
to  Mr  Adams,  at  that  time  American  minister  in  Lon- 
don.   Colonel  Smith  befriended  him  after  his  arrival 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


176 


be  his 
als  for 
[idians, 
conve- 
fallen, 
for  a 
i ; they 
id  pro- 
;nance. 
objects 

le  ship, 
lere  he 
on,  and 
rsue  his 
a.    By 
ike  him 
ith  the 
rom  Sir 
science, 
believ- 
raluable 
y ;  and 
c  itself, 
liberal 
higher 
Icreased 

)ecome 

Legation 

in  Lon- 

arrival 


in  England,  and,  conceiving  the  journey  he  was  about 
to  undertake,  as  promising  to  be  highly  important  to 
America,  he  wrote  an  account  of  it  to  Mr  Jay,  then 
Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  the  United  States. 
After  a  few  iMurks  relative  to  Ledyard's  previous  at- 
tempts and  ol^cts,  Colonel  Smith  proceeds ; 

*^  In  consequence  of  some  allurements  from  an  Eng- 
lish nobleman  at  Paris,  he  came  here  with  the  inten- 
tion of  exploring  the  Northwest  Coast  and  country ; 
and  a  vessel  being  on  the  point  of  sailing  for  that 
coast,  after  supplying  himself  with  a  few  necessary 
articles  for  his  voyage  and  march,  he  procured  a  pas- 
sage with  a  promise  from  the  captain  to  land  him  on 
the  western  coast,  from  which  he  means  to  attempt 
a  march  through  the  Indian  nations  to  the  back  parts 
of  the  Atlantic  states,  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
the  country  and  its  inhabitants  ;  and  he  expects  to  be 
able  to  make  his  way  through,  possessed  of  such  infor- 
mation of  the  country  and  people,  as  will  be  of  great 
adv<intage  to  ours.  This  remains  to  be  proved.  It  is 
a  daring,  wild  attempt.  Determined  to  pursue  the 
object,  he  embarked  the  last  week,  free  and  independ- 
ent of  the  world,  pursuing  his  plan  unembarrassed  by 
contract  or  obligation.  If  he  succeeds,  and  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  years  should  visit  our  country 
by  this  amazing  circuit,  he  may  bring  with  him  some 
interesting  information.  If  he  fails,  and  is  never  heard 
of  more,  which  I  think  most  probable,  there  is  no  harm 
done.  He  dies  in  an  unknown  country,  and  if  he 
composes  himself  in  his  last  moments  with  the  reflec- 
tion, that  his  project  was  great,  and  the  undertaking 
what  few  men  are  capable  of,  it  will  to  his  mind  soothe 


176 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


I 


1, 


the  passage.  He  is  perfectly  calculated  for  the  at- 
tempt, robust  and  healthy,  and  has  an  immense  pas- 
sion to  make  discoveries,  which  will  benefit  society, 
and  ensure  him,  agreeably  to  his  own  expression, '  a 
small  degree  of  honest  fame.'  It  may  ^^  be  improper 
for  your  excellency  to  be  acquainted  with  these  cir- 
cumstances, and  you  are  the  best  judge  of  the  propriety 
of  extending  them  further." 

The  vessel  went  down  the  Thames  from  Deptford, 
and  in  a  few  days  put  to  sea.  Ledyard  thought  it  the 
happiest  moment  of  his  life.  But  alas !  how  uncertain 
are  human  expectations.  Again  was  he  doomed  to 
suffer  the  agonies  of  a  disappointment  more  severe 
than  any  that  had  preceded,  because  never  before 
were  his  wishes  so  near  their  consummation.  He 
looked  upon  the  great  obstacles  as  overcome,  and  re- 
garded himself  as  beyond  the  reach  of  fortune's 
caprice.  This  delusion  soon  vanished.  The  vessel 
was  not  out  of  sight  of  land,  before  it  was  brought 
back  by  an  order  from  the  government,  and  the  voyage 
was  finally  broken  off.  He  went  back  to  London,  as 
may  be  supposed,  with  a  heavy  heart.  A  month  after- 
wards he  wrote  to  Dr  Ledyard, 

**  I  am  still  the  slave  of  fortune,  and  the  son  of 
care.  You  will  be  surprised  that  I  am  yet  in  London, 
unless  you  will  conclude  with  me,  that,  after  what  has 
happened,  nothing  can  be  surprising.  I  think  my  last 
letter  informed  you,  that  I  was  absolutely  embarked 
on  board  a  ship  in  the  Thames,  bound  to  the  Northwest 
Coast  of  America.  This  will  inform  you,  that  I  have 
disembarked  from  said  ship,  on  account  of  her  having 
been  unfortunately  seized  by  the  customhouse,  and 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


177 


e  at- 
pas- 
ciety, 
3n,  'a 
iroper 
e  cir- 
»priety 

ptford, 

;  it  the 

certain 

ned  to 

severe 
before 

1.    He 

md  re- 

)rtune's 
vessel 
rought 
voyage 

doDi  as 
after- 
son  of 
iOndon, 

[hat  has 

|my  last 

ibarked 

Irthwest 

I  have 

having 

and 


eventually  exchequered ;  and  that  I  am  obliged  in  con- 
sequence to  alter  my  route ;  and,  in  short,  everything, 
all  my  little  baggage — shield,  buckler,  lance,  dogs, 
squire, — and  all  gone.  I  only  am  left ; — left  to  what  ? 
To  some  riddle,  I'll  warrant  you ;  or,  at  all  events,  I 
will  not  warrant  anything  else.  My  heart  is  too  much 
troubled  at  this  moment  to  write  you  as  I  ought  to  do. 
I  will  only  add,  that  I  am  going  in  a  few  days  to  make 
the  tour  of  the  globe  from  London  east  on  foot.  I 
dare  not  write  you  more,  nor  introduce  you  to  the  real 
state  of  my  affairs.  Farewell.  Fortitude !  Adieu." 
By  this  it  will  be  seen,  that  his  Siberian  project  was 
again  revived  ;  and,  in  fact,  a  subscription  to  aid  him 
in  this  object  had  already  been  commenced  in  London, 
under  the  patronage  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Dr  Hunter, 
Sir  James  Hall,  and  Colonel  Smith.  ''  I  fear  my 
subscription  will  be  small,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Mr 
Jefferson ;  "  it  adds  to  my  anxiety  to  reach  those 
dominions,  where  I  shall  not  want  money.  I  do  not 
mean  the  dominions,  that  may  be  beyond  death.  I  shall 
never  wish  to  die  while  you  and  the  Marquis  arc  alive. 
I  am  going  across  Siberia,  as  I  before  intended."  The 
amount  collected  by  his  friends  is  not  mentioned,  but 
it  was  such,  as  to  induce  him  to  set  out  upon  the  jour- 
ney; which,  indeed,  he  probably  would  have  done, 
had  he  obtained  no  money  at  all.  He  had  lived  too 
long  by  expedients  to  be  stopped  in  his  career,  by  an 
obstacle  so  trifling  in  his  imagination  as  the  want  of 
money,  and  he  was  panting  to  get  into  a  country, 
where  its  use  was  unknown,  and  where  of  course  the 
want  of  it  would  not  be  felt. 
23 


178 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Ledyanl  proceed!  to  Hamburg. — Goes  to  Copenhagen,  where  he  meets  M^or 
Langhom,  another  American  traveller. — Endeavors  to  persuade  Langhom  to 
accompany  him  on  his  tour,  but  in  vain. — Continuen  his  nuto  to  Sweden,  and 
is  dijiappointed  in  not  being  able  to  cross  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia  on  the  ice. — 
Journey  round  the  Gulf  into  the  Arctic  Circle  on  foot,  through  Sweden,  Lap- 
land, and  Finland. — Maupertuis'  description  of  the  cold  at  Tomea. — Arrives 
at  Petersburg,  where  he  is  befriended  by  Professor  Pallas  and  others. — Pro- 
cures a  passport  from  the  Empress,  through  the  agency  of  Count  Segur,  the 
French  ambassador. — Sets  out  for  Siberia,  and  travels  by  way  of  Moscow  to 
Kazan,  a  town  on  the  river  Wolga. — Crosses  the  Uralian  Mountains. — Some 
account  of  the  city  of  Tobolsk. — Proceeds  to  Bamaoul  and  Tomsk. — Descrip- 
tions of  the  country  and  the  inhabitants. — Character  and  condition  of  the 
exiles  at  Tomsk. — Fossil  Bones. — Curious  mounds  and  tombs  of  the  ancient 
natives.— Arrives  at  Irkutsk. 

Leaving  London  in  December,  Ledyard  went  over 
to  Hamburg,  whence  he  immediately  wrote  to  Colonel 
Smith.  From  the  account  of  his  finances  contained 
in  that  letter,  it  would  not  seem  that  he  was  encum- 
bered, at  his  departure  from  England,  with  a  heavy 
purse.  He  makes  no  complaint  however ;  on  the 
contrary,  he  expresses  only  joy,  that  the  journey,  which 
he  had  so  long  desired,  was  actually  begun. 

"  I  am  here,"  he  says, "  with  ten  guineas  exactly, 
and  in  perfect  health.  One  of  my  dogs  is  no  more. 
I  lost  him  on  my  passage  up  the  river  Elbe  to  Ham- 
burg, in  a  snow  storm.  I  was  out  in  it  forty  hours  in 
an  open  boat.  My  other  faithful  companion  is  under 
the  table  on  which  I  write.  I  dined  to  day  with 
Madam  Parish,  lady  of  the  gentleman  I  mentioned  to 
you.  It  is  a  Scotch  house  of  the  first  commercial  dis- 
tinction here.  The  Scotch  have  by  nature  a  dignity 
of  sentiment,    that  renders  them   accomplished.     I 


ii 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


179 


B  Mi^or 
;hom  to 
jen,  and 
le  ice. — 
in,  Lap- 
-ArrivM 
».— Pro- 
Bgur,  the 
oscow  to 
I. — Some 
-Descrip- 
tn  of  the 
le  ancient 


It  over 
polonel 
itained 
^ncum- 

heavy 
the 

which 


>n 


xactly, 

more. 

Ham- 
ours  in 

under 
with 
med  to 
:ial  dis- 

dignity 
led.     I 


could  go  to  heaven  with  Madam  Parish,  but  she  had 
some  people  at  her  table,  that  I  could  not  go  to  heaven 
with.  I  cannot  submit  to  a  haughty  eccentricity  of 
manners.  My  fate  has  sent  me  to  the  tavern,  where 
Major  Langhorn  was  three  weeks.  He  is  now  at  Co- 
penhagen, having  left  his  baggage  here  to  be  sent  on 
to  him.  By  some  mistake  he  has  not  received  it,  and 
has  written  to  the  master  of  the  hotel  on  the  subject. 
I  shall  write  to  him,  and  give  him  my  address  at 
Petersburg.  I  should  wish  to  see  him  at  all  events, 
but  to  have  him  accompany  me  on  my  voyage  would 
be  a  pleasure  indeed." 

This  Major  Langhorn  turns  out  to  be  an  American 
officer,  lately  arrived  in  Hamburg  from  Newcastle, 
"  a  very  good  kind  of  a  man,  and  an  odd  kind  of  a 
man,"  as  the  master  of  the  hotel  called  him,  one  who 
had  travelled  much,  and  was  fond  of  travelling  in  his 
own  way.  He  had  gone  off  to  Copenhagen  without 
his  baggage,  taking  with  him  only  one  spare  shirt,  and 
very  few  other  articles  of  clothing.  It  does  not  ap- 
pear, that  Ledyard  had  ever  been  acquainted  with 
Langhorn,  or  even  seen  him ;  but  he  had  heard  such  a 
description  of  him  from  Colonel  Smith,  and  others,  that 
in  fancy  he  had  become  enamored  of  the  originality  and 
romantic  turn  of  his  character,  and  particularly  of  his 
passion  for  travelling.  Carried  away  with  this  whim- 
sical prepossession,  he  had  got  it  into  his  head,  that 
Langhorn  was  the  fittest  man  in  the  world  to  be  the 
companion  of  his  travels.  An  imaginary  resemblance 
between  their  pursuits,  condition,  and  the  bent  of  their 
genius,  created  a  sympathy,  that  was  not  to  be  resist- 
ed.   He  moreover  suspected  from  hints,  which  he  saw 


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180 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


i 


in  Langhorn's  letter,  inquiring  about  his  trunk,  that 
he  was  in  want  of  money.  Here  was  another  appeal 
to  his  generosity,  and  one  which  he  could  never  suffer 
to  be  made  in  vain,  when  he  had  ten  guineas  in  his 
pocket.  "  I  will  fly  to  him  with  my  little  all,  and 
some  clothes,  and  lay  them  at  his  feet.  At  this 
moment  I  may  be  useful  to  him ;  he  is  my  country- 
man, a  gentleman,  a  traveller.  He  may  go  with  me 
on  my  journey ;  if  he  does,  I  am  blessed ;  if  not,  I 
shall  merit  his  attention,  and  shall  not  be  much  out  of 
my  way  to  Petersburg." 

With  this  state  of  his  feelings  it  is  not  wonderful, 
that  we  should  next  hear  from  him  at  Copenhagen. 
He  hastened  on  to  that  city,  and  arrived  there  about 
the  first  of  January,  1787,  although  it  was  taking  him 
far  aside  from  his  direct  course,  and  exposing  him  to 
all  the  fatigues  and  perils  of  a  long,  tedious  winter 
passage  through  Sweden  and  Finland.  He  found 
Langhorn  in  a  very  awkward  situation,  without  money 
or  friends,  and  shut  up  in  his  room  for  the  want  of 
decent  apparel  to  appear  abroad  in ;  and,  what  was 
wors(>,  incurring  the  suspicions  of  those  around  him, 
that  he  was  some  vagabond,  or  desperate  charac- 
ter, whose  conduct  had  rendered  it  expedient  for  him 
to  keep  out  of  sight.  Imagination  only  can  paint  the 
joy,  that  glowed  in  our  traveller's  countenance,  when 
he  saw  the  remains  of  his  ten  guineas  slip  from  his 
fingers,  to  relieve  the  distresses  of  his  new  found 
friend.  All  that  could  now  be  said  of  them  was, 
that  their  poverty  was  equalized;  the  Major  could 
walk  abroad,  and  his  benefactor  had  not  means  to 
carry  him  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  city.    The  road 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


18t 


to  Petersburg  was  many  hundred  miles  long,  through 
snows,  and  over  ice,  and  presenting  obstacles  enough 
at  that  season  to  appal  the  stoutest  heart,  even  with  all 
the  facilities  for  travelling,  which  gold  could  purchase. 
What  then  was  the  prospect  for  a  moneyless  pedes- 
trian ? 

These  reflections  were  not  suffered  to  intrude  upon 
the  pleasures  of  the  moment.  His  money  was  gone, 
it  was  true,  but  a  worthy  man,  and  a  traveller,  had 
been  made  happier  by  it.  How  he  should  advance 
further  was  a  thing  to  be  thought  of  tomorrow,  yet 
the  doubt  never  came  into  his  mind,  that  anything 
could  stop  him,  when  the  time  should  arrive  for  him  to 
move  forward.  Neither  confidence  nor  fortitude  ever 
forsook  him.  Two  weeks  were  agreeably  passed  in 
the  society  of  Langhorn^  but  no  inducements  could 
prevail  on  him  to  undertake  the  Siberian  tour,  much 
less  to  hazard  the  dangerous  experiment  of  entrusting 
himself  among  the  wild  barbarians  of  North  America. 
His  humor  was  not  of  this  sort,  yet  it  was  scarcely 
less  peculiar,  than  if  it  had  been.  "  I  see  in  him," 
says  Ledyard  to  Colono:  Smith,  *^  the  soldier,  the 
countryman,  and  the  generous  friend ;  but  he  would 
hang  me  if  he  knew  I  had  written  a  word  about  him  ; 
and  so  I  will  say  no  more,  than  just  to  inform  you, 
that  he  means  to  wander  this  winter  through  Norway, 
Swedish  Lapland,  and  Sweden ;  and  in  the  spring  to 
visit  Petersburg.  I  asked  to  attend  him  through  this 
route  to  Petersburg  ; — *  No ;  I  esteem  you,  but  I  can 
travel  in  the  way  I  do  with  no  man  on  earth.' "  After 
this  avowal,  the  Major  certainly  merits  the  praise  of 
frankness,  if  not  of  compliance ;  and  Ledyard  must 


K 


182 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


have  possessed  a  larger  share  of  practical  philosophy, 
than  falls  to  the  lot  of  most  men,  to  have  been  per- 
fectly reconciled  to  this  abrupt  declaration,  after  com- 
ing so  far  out  of  his  way,  and  spending  much  time  and 
all  his  money  in  search  of  a  companion,  who  he  fondly 
hoped  would  participate  in  his  adventures. 

When  this  visit  of  friendship  was  closed,  and  the 
hour  of  departure  approached,  the  necessity  was  press- 
ed upon  him  of  looking  about  for  money.  He  drew  a 
small  bill  on  Colonel  Smith,  and  good  fortune  put  in 
his  way  a  merchant,  who  consented  to  accept  it,  and 
pay  him  the  amount.  "  Thompson's  goodness  to 
me,"  he  writes  to  Colonel  Smith,  **  in  accepting  the 
bill  on  you,  relying  on  my  honor,  has  saved  me  from 
perdition,  and  will  enable  me  to  reach  Petersburg." 
A  small  sum,  to  meet  such  an  exigency,  had  been  left 
in  Colonel  Smith's  hands,  but  not  to  the  full  amount  of 
the  draft.  Ledyard  apologizes  for  the  addition,  and 
tells  his  friend,  that  he  must  put  it  to  the  account  of 
charity,  for  his  necessities  only  had  compelled  him  to 
overdraw.  The  draft  was  kindly  accepted  by  Colonel 
Smith,  when  it  came  to  hand.  Thus  replenished,  our 
traveller  parted  from  the  eccentric  Major,  crossed  over 
into  Sweden,  and  arrived  in  Stockholm  towards  the 
end  of  January.* 


*  Langhom  pursued  his  route,  as  he  had  proposed,  wandering  over 
Sweden,  Norway,  and  Lapland.  The  summer  following  he  arrived  in 
Tomea,  at  the  proper  season  for  witnessing  the  sight,  which  has  drawn 
other  travellers  to  that  place.  Tomea  is  but  a  few  miles  south  of  the 
Arctic  Circle,  and  at  the  time  of  the  summer  solstice  the  sun  appears 
above  the  horizon,  as  observed  by  Maupertuis,  "  for  several  days  to- 
fedier  without  setting."    Travellen  are  then  favored  with  what  is 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


183 


The  common  mode  of  travelling  from  Stockholm  to 
Petersburg  in  the  summer  season,  is  to  cross  the  Gulf 
of  Bothnia  to  Abo  in-  Finland  by  water,  touching  at 
the  isles  of  Aland  on  the  passage.  In  winter  the 
same  route  is  pursued,  when  the  sea  is  frozen  so  hard 
as  to  admit  of  sledges  being  drawn  from  one  island  to 
another  on  the  ice.  The  greatest  distance  to  be  pass- 
ed over  in  this  manner,  without  touching  land,  is 
about  thirty  miles.  Under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances this  passage  is  troublesome  and  dangerous.  It 
is  well  described  by  Acerbi.  **  My  astonishment  was 
greatly  increased,"  says  he,  ^*  in  proportion  as  we  ad- 
vanced from  our  starting  post.  The  sea,  at  first 
smooth  and  even,  became  more  and  more  rough  and 
unequal.  It  assumed,  as  we  proceeded,  an  undulating 
appearance,  resembling  the  waves  by  which  it  had 
been  agitated.     At  length  we  met  with  masses  of  ice 


called  *'  a  view  of  the  sun  at  midnight."  Acerbi  was  there  in  1799,  and 
he  mentions  Langhorn.  In  the  church  of  Jukasjeroi,  a  town  at  some 
distance  to  the  north  of  Tornea,  and  the  Ultima  Thule  of  travellers  in 
that  direction,  there  is  a  book  in  which  are  written  the  names  of  visit- 
ers, with  such  remarks  as  their  humor  prompted  them  to  indite. 
These  are  copied  into  Acerbi's  Travels,  amounting  to  only  seven  in 
number.  The  first  record  was  by  Regnard,  on  the  18th  of  August, 
1681.  The  following  is  a  literal  transcript  of  another.  "  Justice  bids 
me  record  thy  hospitable  fame,  and  testify  it  by  my  name.  W.  L<ang> 
horn.  United  States.  July  33d,  1787."  This  was  six  months  after 
Ledyard  lefl  him  in  Copenhagen.  Acerbi  says  he  was  travelling  on 
foot  iVom  Norway  to  Archangel. 

There  is  another  record  in  the  Album  of  Jukasjeroi,  entered  by  a 
character  noted  for  his  singularities,  and  his  passion  for  rambling,  and 
who  is  still  remembered  in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  many  other 
ports  of  the  world,  by  tlie  name  of  the  Walking  Stetoart.  "  Non  mihi 
fama,  scd  hospitalitatis  et  gratitudinis  testimonium.  S.  Stewart,  Civia 
Orbis.   30  Julii,  1787." 


1* 


U 


184 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


heaped  one  upon  the  other,  and  some  of  them  seem- 
ing as  if  they  were  suspended  in  the  air,  while  others 
were  raised  in  the  form  of  pyramids.  On  the  whole, 
they  exhibited  a  picture  of  the  wildest  and  most 
savage  confusion,  that  surprised  the  eye  by  the  novelty 
of  its  appearance.  It  was  an  immense  chaos  of  icy 
ruins,  presented  to  view  under  every  possible  form, 
and  embellished  by  superb  stalactites  of  a  blue  green 
color."  Over  this  rough  surface,  and  between  the 
broken  waves  of  ice,  the  passengers  are  drawn  in 
sledges,  muffled  up  in  wolf  skins  and  other  furs.  The 
chief  danger  consists  in  the  sledges  being  repeatedly 
upset,  and  the  horses  sometimes  taking  fright,  and 
running  away  like  wild  deer.  Acerbi  had  a  serious 
adventure  of  this  sort,  but  he  luckily  escaped  without 
harm,  as  he  did  from  many  other  adventures,  which 
awaited  him  in  his  travels  to  the  North  Cape. 

This  is  the  method  of  crossing  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia 
in  common  seasons,  but  there  is  occasionally  an  open 
winter,  when  it  is  impassable,  either  by  water  or  on 
the  ice,  for  if  the  passage  does  not  freeze  entirely  over, 
the  water  contains  so  much  floating  ice,  that  no  vessel 
can  sail  through  it.  When  this  happens,  the  only  way 
of  going  to  Petersburg  is  around  the  Gulf,  a  distance 
of  twelve  hundred  miles,  over  trackless  snows,  in 
regions  thinly  peopled,  where  the  nights  are  long 
and  the  cold  intense,  and  all  this  to  gain  no  more  than 
fifty  miles. 

Such  was  unfortunately  the  condition  of  the  ice, 
when  Ledyard  arrived  at  the  usual  place  of  crossing. 
It  had  not  been  frozen  solid  from  the  beginning  of  the 
winter,  and  no  traveller  could  pass.    Of  all  his  dis- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


185 


ttbnia 
open 
or  on 
over, 
Ivesscl 
way 
itance 
vs,  in 
long 
than 

|e  ice, 
)ssing* 
lof  the 
Lis  dis- 


appointments, none  had  afflicted  him  more  severely 
than  this.  The  only  alternative  was,  either  to  stay 
in  Stockholm  till  the  spring  should  open,  or  to  go 
around  the  Gulf  into  Lapland,  and  seek  his  way  from 
the  Arctic  Circle  to  Petersburg,  through  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  Finland ;  and  in  either  case  he  foresaw,  that 
he  should  arrive  so  late  in  Russia,  that  another  senson 
would  be  wasted  in  Siberia,  before  he  could  cross 
to  the  American  continent.  The  single  circumstance, 
therefore,  of  the  passage  to  Abo  being  thus  obstructed, 
was  likely  to  keep  him  back  a  full  year  from  the  at- 
tainment of  his  grand  object.  But  he  did  not  delibe- 
rate long.  He  could  not  endure  inactivity,  and  new 
difficulties  nerved  him  with  new  strength  to  encounter 
and  subdue  them.  He  set  out  for  Tornea  in  the  heart 
of  winter,  afoot  and  alone,  without  money  or  friends, 
on  a  road  almost  unfrequented  at  that  frightful  season, 
and  with  the  gloomy  certainty  resting  on  his  mind, 
that  he  must  travel  northward  six  hundred  miles,  be- 
fore he  could  turn  his  steps  towards  a  milder  climate, 
and  then  six  or  seven  hundred  more  in  descending  to 
Petersburg,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Gulf. 

When  Maupcrtuis  and  his  companions  were  about 
leaving  Stockholm,  on  their  journey  to  Tornea,  for  the 
purpose  of  measuring  a  degree  of  the  meridian  under 
the  Polar  Circle,  the  King  of  Sweden  told  them,  that 
"  it  was  not  without  sensible  concern,  that  he  saw 
them  pursue  so  desperate  an  undcrlaking ; "  yet  they 
were  prepared  with  every  possible  convenience  for 
travelling,  and  protection  against  the  rigors  of  a  north- 
ern winter.  A  better  idea  of  the  degree  and  effects 
of  cold,  at  the  head  of  the  Gulf,  cannot  be  formed, 
24 


I 


*» 


186 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


perhaps,  than  from  Maupertuis'  description.  "The 
town  of  Tornea,  at  our  arrival  on  the  thirtieth  of 
December,  had  really  a  most  frightful  aspect.  Its 
little  houses  were  buried  to  the  tops  in  snow,  which, 
if  there  had  been  any  daylight,  must  have  effectually 
shut  it  out.  But  the  snows  continually  falling,  or 
ready  to  fall,  for  the  most  part  hid  the  sun  the  few 
moments,  that  he  might  have  showed  himself  at  mid- 
day. In  the  month  of  January  the  cold  was  increased 
to  that  extremity,  that  Reaumur's  mercurial  ther- 
mometers, which  in  Paris,  in  the  great  frost  of  1709, 
it  was  thought  strange  to  see  fall  to  fourteen  dcgi'ees 
below  the  freezing  point,  were  now  down  to  thirty- 
seven.  The  spirit  of  wine  in  the  others  was  frozen. 
If  we  opened  the  door  of  a  warm  room,  the  external 
air  instantly  converted  all  the  air  in  it  into  snow, 
whirling  it  round  in  white  vortexes.  If  we  went 
abroad,  we  felt  as  if  the  air  were  tearing  our  breasts  in 
pieces.  And  the  cracking  of  the  wood  whereof  the 
houses  are  built,  as  if  the  violence  of  the  cold  split  it, 
continually  alarmed  us  with  an  approaching  increase 
of  cold.  The  solitude  of  the  streets  was  no  less,  than 
if  the  inhabitants  had  been  all  dead ;  and  in  this 
country  you  may  often  see  people  that  have  been 
maimed,  and  had  an  arm  or  a  leg  frozen  off.  The 
cold,  which  is  always  very  great,  increases  sometimes 
by  such  violent  and  sudden  fits,  as  are  almost  infallibly 
fatal  to  those,  that  happen  to  be  exposed  to  it.  Some- 
times there  arise  sudden  tempests  of  snow,  that  are 
still  more  dangerous.  The  winds  seem  to  blow  from 
all  quarters  at  once,  and  drive  about  the  snow  with 
such  fury,  that  in  a  moment  all  the  roads  are  lost. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


187 


Unhappy  he,  who  is  seized  by  such  a  storm  in  the 
fields.  His  acquaintance  with  the  country,  or  the 
marks  he  may  have  taken  by  the  trees,  cannot  avail 
him.  He  is  blinded  by  the  snow,  and  lost  if  he  stirs 
but  a  step."  * 

These  were  the  scenes,  that  awaited  our  pedestrian 
in  his  winter  excursion  to  the  Polar  Circle.  How  far 
they  were  realized  by  him  must  be  now  left  to  conjec- 
ture. No  part  of  his  journal  during  this  tour  has  been 
preserved,  nor  is  it  known  what  course  he  took  from 
Tornea  to  Petersburg.  The  common  route  is  along 
the  border  of  the  Gulf  to  Abo,  but  in  winter  the  road 
is  much  obstructed  by  ice,  and  is  extremely  bad. 
Linnaeus  passed  it  in  September,  when  returning  from 
his  scientific  tour  to  Lapland,  and  he  estimates  the 
distance  from  Tornea  to  Abo  at  upwards  of  six  hun- 
dred English  miles.  From  a  remark  in  Ledyard^s 
letter  to  Mr  Jefferson,  which  will  be  quoted  below,  it 
would  seem,  that  he  took  a  different  direction,  and 
passed  farther  into  the  interior  of  Russian  Finland. 
This  route,  as  he  intimates,  must  have  been  wholly 
unfrequented  by  travellers,  although  the  distance  must 
be  shorter,  and  at  that  season  perhaps  the  difficulties 
to  be  encountered  were  not  greater,  than  down  the 
Gulf. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  he  reached  Petersburg  before  the 
twentieth  of  March,  that  is,  within  seven  weeks  of 
the  time  of  leaving  Stockholm,  making  the  average 
distance  travelled  about  two  hundred  miles  a  week. 


*  See  Mauportuis*  Discourse  before  tlie  Royul  Academy  of  Science! 
in  Paris.    November  13Ui,  1737. 


188 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  he  met  with  no  obstacles, 
which  his  resolution  did  not  speedily  overcome.  His 
letter  to  Mr  Jefferson,  dated  Petersburg,  March  19th, 
17,87,  will  acquaint  us  with  the  state  of  his  feelings, 
and  his  prospects,  at  this  stage  of  his  travels. 

"  It  will  be  one  of  the  remaining  pleasures  of  my 
life,  to  thank  you  for  the  many  instances  of  your 
friendship,  and,  wherever  I  am,  to  pursue  you  with 
the  tale  of  my  gratitude.  If  Mr  Barclay  should  be 
at  Paris,  let  him  rank  with  you  as  my  next  friend.  I 
hardly  know  how  to  estimate  the  goodness  of  the 
Marquis  de  la  Fayette  to  me,  but  I  think  a  French 
nobleman,  of  the  first  character  in  his  country,  never 
did  more  to  serve  an  obscure  citizen  of  another,  than 
he  has  done  for  me  ;  and  I  am  sure,  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble, without  some  kind  of  soul  made  expressly  for  the 
purpose,  that  an  obscure  citizen  in  such  a  situation  can 
be  more  grateful  than  I  am.  May  he  be  told  so,  with 
my  compliments  to  his  lady. 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  by  what  means  I  came  to  Peters- 
burg, and  hardly  know  by  what  means  I  shall  quit  it, 
in  the  further  prosecution  of  my  tour  round  the 
world  by  land.  If  I  have  any  merit  in  tiie  affair,  it  is 
perseverance,  for  most  severely  have  I  been  buffeted  ; 
and  yet  still  am  even  more  obstinate  than  before  ;  and 
fate,  as  obstinate,  continues  her  assaults.  How  the 
matter  will  terminate  I  know  not.  The  most  proba- 
ble conjecture  is,  that  1  shall  succeed,  and  be  buffeted 
around  the  world,  as  I  have  hitherto  been  from  Eng- 
land through  Denmark,  through  Sweden,  Swedish 
Lapland,  Swedish  Finland,  and  the  most  unfrequented 
parts  of  Russian  Finland,  to  this  aurora  borealis  of  a 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


189 


rs- 

it, 
he 
is 
id; 
nd 
Ithe 
iba- 
ted 

|ng- 
lish 

kted 

)f  a 


city.  I  cannot  give  you  a  history  of  myself  since  I 
saw  you,  or  since  I  wrote  you  last ;  however  abridged, 
it  would  be  too  long.  Upon  the  whole,  mankind 
have  used  me  well ;  and  though  I  have  as  yet  reached 
only  the  first  stage  of  my  journey,  I  feel  myself  much 
indebted  for  that  urbanity,  which  I  always  thought 
more  general,  than  many  think  it  to  be  ;  and  were  it 
not  for  the  mischievous  laws  and  bad  examples  of 
some  governments  I  have  passed  through,  I  am  per- 
suaded I  should  be  able  to  give  you  a  still  better  ac- 
count of  our  fellow  creatures.  But  I  am  hastening  to 
countries,  where  goodness,  if  natural  to  the  human 
heart,  will  appear  independent  of  example,  and  furnish 
an  illustration  of  the  character  of  man,  not  unworthy 
of  him,  who  wrote  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
I  did  not  hear  of  the  death  of  M.  de  Vergennes  until 
I  arrived  here.  Permit  me  to  express  my  regret  at 
the  loss  of  so  great  and  so  good  a  man.  Permit  me, 
also,  to  congratulate  you,  as  the  minister  of  my  coun- 
try, on  account  of  the  additional  commercial  privileges 
granted  by  France  to  America,  and  to  express  my 
ardent  wishes,  that  the  friendly  spirit,  which  dictated 
them,  may  last  for  ever.  I  was  extremely  pleased  at 
reading  the  account,  and  to  heighten  the  satisfaction, 
I  found  the  name  of  La  Fayette  there. 

"An  equipment  is  now  on  foot  here  for  the  sea  of 
Kamtschatka,  and  it  is  first  to  visit  the  Northwest 
Coast  of  America.  It  is  to  consist  of  four  ships. 
This,  and  the  expedition  that  went  from  here  twelve 
months  since  by  land  for  Kamtschatka,  are  to  cooper- 
ate in  a  design  of  some  sort  in  the  Northern  Pacific 
Ocean ;   the   Lord  knows  what,  nor  does  it  matter 


^. . 


190 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


what  with  me,  nor  indeed  with  you,  nor  any  other 
minister,  nor  any  potentate,  south  of  fifty  degrees  of 
latitude.  I  can  only  say,  that  you  are  in  no  danger  of 
having  the  luxurious  repose  of  your  charming  climates 
disturbed  by  a  second  incursion  of  either  Goth,  Van- 
dal, Hun,  or  Scythian. 

"  I  dined  today  with  Professor  Pallas.  He  is  an 
accomplished  man,  and  my  friend,  and  has  travelled 
throughout  European  and  Asiatic  Russia.  I  find  the 
little  French  I  have,  of  infinite  service  to  me.  I 
could  not  do  without  it.  It  is  a  most  extraordinary 
language.  I  believe  wolves,  rocks,  woods,  and  snow 
understand  it,  for  I  have  addressed  them  all  in  it,  and 
they  have  all  been  very  complaisant  to  me.  We  had 
a  Scythian  at  table,  who  belongs  to  the  Royal  Society 
of  Physicians  here.  The  moment  he  knew  me  and 
my  designs,  he  became  my  friend  ;  and  it  will  be  by 
his  generous  assistance,  joined  with  that  of  Professor 
Pallas,  that  I  shall  be  able  to  procure  a  Royal  Pass- 
port, without  which  I  cannot  stir.  This  must  be 
done  through  an  application  to  the  French  minister, 
there  being  no  American  minister  here;  and  to  his 
secretary  I  shall  apply  with  Dr  Pallas  tomorrow,  and 
shall  take  the  liberty  to  make  use  of  your  name,  and 
that  of  the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  as  to  my  character. 
As  nil  my  letters  of  recommendation  were  English, 
and  as  I  have  hitherto  been  used  by  the  English  with 
the  greatest  kindness  and  respect,  I  first  applied  to 
the  British  minister,  but  without  success.  The  apolo- 
gy was,  that  the  present  political  condition,  between 
Russia  and  England,  would  make  it  disagreeable  for 
the  British  minister  to  ask  any  favor.    The  secretary 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


191 


ster, 
his 
and 
and 
cter. 
lish, 
with 
d  to 
polo- 
weea 
e  for 
letary 


of  the  French  embassy  will  despatch  my  letter,  and 
one  of  his  accompanying  it,  to  the  Count  Segur  to- 
morrow morning.  I  will  endeavor  to  write  you  again 
before  I  leave  Petersburg,  and  give  you  some  further 
accounts  of  myself.  Meantime,  I  wish  you  health. 
I  have  written  a  short  letter  to  the  Marquis.    Adieu." 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  at  this  time  the  Em- 
press was  absent  on  her  famous  jaunt  to  Kerson  and 
the  Krimea.  She  had  left  Petersburg  in  January, 
accompanied  by  Prince  Potemkin,  and  many  others  of 
the  courtiers,  and  of  the  Russian  nobility.  The  Aus- 
trian and  French  ambassadors  were  also  in  her  train. 
She  passed  through  Smolensk,  and  was  now  at  Kief, 
where  she  remained  amidst  a  brilliant  assemblage  of 
nobles  from  Poland  and  her  Russian  territories,  till 
the  spring  was  so  far  advanced,  that  she  could  proceed 
by  water  down  the  Dnieper,  in  the  magnificent  gallies 
prepared  for  the  purpose. 

While  the  Empress  and  her  retinue  were  at  Kief,  a 
round  of  splendid  entertainments,  ceremonies,  and 
visits  from  eminent  personages,  occupied  her  time,  and 
absorbed  her  thoughts,  in  addition  to  the  great  politi- 
cal projects,  which  she  is  said  to  have  been  meditating 
in  regard  to  the  conquest  of  Turkey.  Had  the 
French  ambassador  found  an  opportunity,  therefore, 
amidst  these  scenes  of  gaiety  and  bustle,  to  present  a 
petition  to  the  Empress  from  an  unknown  individual, 
for  a  passport  to  travel  through  her  dominions,  it  could 
not  be  thought  strange,  that  she  should  have  neglected 
to  attend  to  it  with  the  promptness,  which  more  im- 
portant affairs  might  require.  Weeks  passed  away, 
and  no  answer  was  returned.     Ledyard's  patience 


w 


I':, 


,^1!H 


M 


4 


192 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


was  severely  tried  by  this  delay,  and  he  began  to  talk 
of  going  forward  without  any  passport.  On  the  fif- 
teenth of  May,  after  waiting  nearly  two  months  at 
Petersburg,  he  writes  to  Colonel  Smith,  "  My  heart  is 
oppressed  ;  my  designs  are  generous  ;  why  is  my  fate 
otherwise  ?  The  Count  Segur  has  not  yet  sent  me 
my  passport.  But  this  shall  not  stop  me ;  I  shall 
surmount  all  things,  and  at  least  deserve  success." 
About  this  time  he  became  acquainted  with  a  Russian 
officer,  who  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Grand 
Duke,  and  who  took  a  lively  interest  in  his  concerns, 
and  proffered  his  services.  Ledyard  says  he  was  not 
only  **  polite  and  friendly,  but  a  thinking  Russian." 
By  the  kind  assistance  of  this  gentleman  he  obtained 
his  passport  in  fifteen  days,  and  was  prepared  for  his 
departure. 

It  was  fortunate,  that  just  at  this  time  Mr  William 
Brown,  a  Scotch  physician,  was  going  to  the  province 
of  Kolyvan,  in  the  employment  of  the  Empress. 
Ledyard  joined  him,  and  thus  had  a  companion  on  his 
tour  for  more  than  three  thousand  miles.  From  this 
arrangement  he  enjoyed  an  important  advantage,  for 
Brown  travelled  at  the  expense  of  the  government, 
and  as  Ledyard  went  with  him  by  permission  of  the 
proper  authority,  his  travelling  charges  were  probably 
defrayed  in  part  at  least  from  the  public  funds. 
And,  indeed,  without  this  aid,  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  him  to  move  a  step,  for  his  own  re- 
sources were  completely  exhausted.  On  his  arrival 
in  Petersburg  his  necessities  were  extreme,  as  his 
money  was  gone,  and  he  was  almost  destitute  of 
clothes.     In  this  extremity  he  drew  a  bill  for  twenty 


// 


^ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


193 


)J 


?» 


guineas  on  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  which  he  found  some 
friend  willing  to  accept,  although  he  confessed,  that 
Sir  Joseph  had  not  authorized  him  to  draw,  and  that 
the  payment  of  the  bill  would  depend  on  his  generosi- 
ty. It  was  immediately  paid  when  presented  in  Lon- 
don, much  to  the  honor  of  that  munificent  patron  of 
science  and  enterprise.  It  is  said,  that  a  quantity 
of  stores  was  sent  under  the  care  of  Dr  Brown,  to  be 
forwarded  to  Mr  Billings  at  Yakutsk,  who  was  em- 
ployed in  exploring  those  remote  regions  of  Siberia 
and  Kamtschatka,  in  the  service  of  the  Empress. 

The  party  left  Petersburg  on  the  first  of  June,  and 
in  six  days  arrived  at  Moscow.  During  the  last  day's 
ride  they  overtook  the  Grand  Duke  and  his  retinue, 
who  were  going  to  Moscow  to  meet  the  Empress  on 
her  return  from  her  pompous  journey  to  the  Krimea. 
The  two  travellers  remained  but  one  day  in  Moscow. 
They  hiopd  a  person  to  go  with  them  to  Kazan,  a  dis- 
tance jftf  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  drive  their 
kibitka  >vith  three  horses.  "  Kibitka  travelling," 
says  Ledyard  in  his  journal,  "  is  the  remains  of  cara- 
van travelling  ;  it  is  your  only  home  ;  it  is  like  a  ship 
at  sea."  In  this  vehicle  thev  were  hurried  along  with 
considerable  speed  towards  Kazan,  through  Vladimir, 
Nishnei  Novogorod,  and  other  towns.  Kazan  stands 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  majestic  Wolga,  and  is  th« 
capital  of  a  province  of  the  same  name.  It  is  ranked 
among  the  first  cities  in  the  empire,  containing  a  uni- 
versity, churches,  convents,  and  other  public  buildings, 
some  of  which  are  magnificent,  and  finished  with 
much  architectural  taste  and  elegance.  Immense 
quantities  of  grain  are  produced  in  this  province,  and 
25  ^ 


Lf^ 


m 


\i    ' 


; .'! 


if 


194 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARI). 


also  flax  and  leather  for  exportation.  The  soil  is  well 
cultivated,  but  low  and  unhealthy,  and  the  inhabitants 
are  a  mixed  population  of  Russians  and  Tartars. 

They  staid  a  week  at  Kazan,  and  then  commenced 
their  journey  to  Tobolsk,  where  they  arrived  on  the 
eleventh  of  July,  having  crossed  the  Ural  mountains, 
and  passed  the  frontiers  of  Europe  and  Asia.  The 
face  of  the  country  had  hitherto  been  level,  with 
hardly  an  eminence  springing  from  the  great  plain, 
which  spreads  over  the  vast  territory  from  Moscow 
to  Tobolsk.  The  ascent  of  the  Ural  mountains  was 
so  gradual,  as  scarcely  to  form  an  exception  to' this 
general  remark,  and  nothing  could  be  more  monoto- 
nous and  dreary,  than  the  interminable  wastes,  over 
which  their  route  had  led  them  since  leaving  Kazan, 
with  here  and  there  a  miserable  village,  and  unpro- 
ductive culture  of  the  soil.  "  The  wretched  appear- 
ance of  the  inhabitants,"  says  our  journalist,|^*  is  such 
as  may  generally  be  observed  in  a  greater  or  lels  de- 
gree in  those  places,  which  are  so  unhappy  as  to  be 
the  frontiers  between  nations ;  like  stop-children  are 
they."  This  is  especially  the  condition  of  the  people 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  China  frontiers, 
that  border  on  Russia.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment to  preserve  this  belt  of  desolation,  as  a  barrier 
against  the  too  easy  access  of  foreigners,  and  as  a 
means  of  preventing  contraband  trade. 

Tobolsk  is  a  city  of  considerable  interest,  having 
been  once  the  capital  of  all  Siberia,  and  in  early  times 
the  scene  of  a  great  battle  between  the  renowned 
hero  Yermak,  and  the  Tartar  prince,  Koutchum  Khan, 
in  which  the  former  was  victorious.     The  city  stands 


u 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


195 


at  the  junction  of  two  large  rivers,  the  Tobol  and 
Irtish,  which  there  unite  and  flow  on  together,  till 
their  waters  are  mingled  with  the  Obe,  and  thence 
conveyed  to  the  Northern  Ocean.     It  consists  of  the 
upper  and  lower  town,  the  latter  situate  on  the  margin 
of  the  river,  and  the  former  on  a  commanding  emi- 
nence, which  overlooks  the  lower  town  and  much  of 
the  adjacent  country.    Captain  Cochrane,  who  visited 
/  his  place  a  few  years  ago,  was  greatly  pleased  with  its 
natural  advantages  and  scenery,  and  the  condition  and 
comforts  of  the  people.    The  town  is  well  laid  out  into 
streets,  contains  handsome  churches  and  other  edifi- 
ces, a  well  regulated  market,  and  provisions  of  all 
kinds  in  abundance,  and  exceedingly  cheap.     He  was 
not  less  charmed  with  the  society,  for  although  To- 
bolsk is  the  residence  of  exiles,  they  are  such  as  have 
been  sent  to  Siberia  for  political  reasons,  and  not  male- 
factors, these  latter  being  accommodated  with  a  resi- 
dence and  employment  much  farther  in  the  interior 
towards  Kamtschatka.   These  political  exiles  are  com- 
monly persons  of  some  culture  and  intelligence,  for, 
as  this  author  justly  remarks,  no  government  banishes 
fools;  and  the  social  circles  of  the  better  sort  indicate 
a  refinement  and  happiness,  which  might  be  envied  in 
more  civilized  parts  of  the  globe.     So  much  was  this 
traveller  pleased  with  the  wild  and  beautiful  scenery 
on  the  banks  of  the  Irtish,  that  he  followed  up  the 
stream  to  the  borders  of  China,  enraptured  at  every 
step ;  nor  was  he  satisfied,  till  he  had  contemplated 
by  moonlight   the   deep   solitudes   and   lofty  granite 
mountains,  that  constitute  the  bulwark  of  this  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  Celestial  Empire. 


M 


Mi 


'Iff 

V 

■  f 

p. 

pi!  - 

-    y 

lg\ 

M' 

1 

'  .W>  ''^. 


196 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


But  Captain  Cochrane  was  an  amateur  traveller, 
wandering  for  amusement,  and  seeking  odd  adventures 
in  the  most  promising  theatre  for  them.  Ledyard,  on 
the  contrary,  was  impelled  forward  by  a  single  motive, 
and  he  would  gladly  have  annihilated  space  and  time, 
if  he  could  have  set  his  foot  the  next  moment  on  the 
American  Continent.  He  did  not  traverse  the  wild 
wastes  of  Siberia  to  make  discoveries,  gaze  at  moun- 
tains, trace  rivers  to  their  sources,  nor  even  to  examine 
the  economy  of  society  and  the  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple. He  had  a  soul  to  admire  whatever  was  grand  or 
beautiful  in  nature,  and  to  be  strongly  affected  with 
the  various  states  of  human  existence,  as  his  observa- 
tions abundantly  prove ;  but  he  suffered  these  to  make 
an  incidental  claim  only  on  his  attention,  keeping 
them  subordinate  to  his  great  design  and  absorbing 
purpose.  Hence  he  stopped  no  longer  in  any  place, 
than  was  necessary  to  prepare  for  a  new  departure. 
Three  days  he  and  his  companion  stayed  at  Tobolsk, 
and  then  continued  their  journey  to  Barnaoul,  the 
capital  of  the  province  of  Kolyvan.  At  this  place  he 
was  to  leave  Dr  Brown  and  proceed  alone.  For  this 
gentleman  he  had  contracted  a  sincere  esteem,  and 
was  prevailed  upon  to  remain  in  Barnaoul  a  week,  out 
of  regard  to  the  kindness  and  in  compliance  with  the 
solicitation  of  his  friend. 

In  many  respects  Barnaoul  is  one  of  the  most  agree- 
able places  of  residence  in  Siberia.  The  province,  of 
which  it  is  the  capital,  is  a  rich  mining  district,  and 
this  brings  together  in  the  town  persons  of  science 
and  respectability,  who  are  employed  as  public  officers 
to  superintend  the  working  of  the  mines.    The  sur- 


/./ 


■  1 


LIFE  OF  JOHN    LEDTARD. 


197 


rounding  country,  moreover,  is  well  suited  to  agricul- 
ture, abounding  in  good  lands  for  pasture  and  grain, 
supporting  vast  herds  of  cattle,  and  producing  vegeta- 
bles in  great  profusion.  In  consequence  of  these 
bounties  of  nature,  there  is  an  overflowing  and  cheap 
market,  an  absence  of  want,  and  much  positive  happi- 
ness among  the  people. 

Ledyard  was  lodged  at  Barnaoul  in  the  house  of 
the  treasurer,  by  whom  he  was  treated  witli  great  hos- 
pitality. He  dined  twice  with  the  governor,  and  also 
with  two  old  discharged  officers  of  the  army,  who,  at 
their  own  request,  had  quitted  the  service,  ajid  become 
judges  and  justices  of  the  law.  He  was  shown  the 
armorial  bearings  of  fortytwo  provinces  in  the  empire. 
The  governor  told  him,  that  the  salt,  produced  by  the 
salt  lakes  in  the  province  of  Kolyvan,  yielded  some- 
what more  to  the  revenue  than  the  mines,  and  also 
that  the  aggregate  amount  of  revenue  from  that  pro- 
vince was  greater  than  from  any  other.  In  respect  to 
gold  and  silver,  this  is  no  doubt  the  case  at  the  present 
day,  but  in  regard  to  the  salt  it  is  uncertain.  There 
are  said  to  be  salt  lakes  in  Siberia,  so  much  saturated 
witK  saline  matter,  that  the  salt  crystalizes  of  its 
own  accord,  and  adheres  in  this  state  to  pieces  of 
wood  and  other  substances  put  into  the  water. 

Kolyvan  is  near  the  middle  point  between  Peters- 
burg and  Okotsk,  it  being  somewhat  more  than  three 
thousand  miles  in  opposite  directions  to  each  of  those 
places.*    Barnaoul  stands  on  the  bank  of  the  river 


r'.'V 


)lfl|w 

»: 

II 

1 

€|i; 

iUKt'l^ 

li" 

P' 

'Bk» 

M 

*  In  his  Journal,  Ledyard  enters  the  following  distances,  which  he 
says  were  taken  from  a  Russian  Almanac.    In  the  second  column  I 


198 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Obe,  which  is  a  broad  and  noble  stream  where  it 
passes  the  town^.  It  is  in  the  fifty  third  degree  of  north 
latitude,  and  in  the  last  week  of  July  the  mornings 
were  exceedingly  hot,  the  sky  cloudless  and  serene, 
and  the  atmosphere  perfectly  calm.  In  the  afternoon 
a  gentle  breeze  would  spring  up,  increase  by  degrees 
till  evening,  and  continue  through  the  night.  Rains 
are  not  frequent  in  Kolyvan. 

The  following  extract  is  from  that  part  of  the  jour- 
nal, which  was  \vritten  at  Barnaoul,  and  contains  re- 
marks on  what  came  under  the  writer's  notice  during 
his  journey  to  that  place. 

"  The  face  of  the  country  from  Petersburg  to  Koly- 
van is  one  continued  plain.  The  soil  before  arriving 
at  Kazan  is  very  well  cultivated ;  afterwards  cultiva- 
tion gradually  ceases.  On  the  route  to  Kazan  we  saw 
large  mounds  of  earth,  often  of  twenty,  thirty,  and 
forty  feet  elevation,  which  I  conjectured,  and  on  in- 
quiry found,  to  be  ancient  sepulchres.  There  is  an 
analogy  between  these  and  our  own  graves,  and  the 
Egyptian  pyramids ;  and  an  exact  resemblance  between 
them,  and  those  piles  supposed  to  be  of  monumental 
earth,  which  are  found  among  some  of  the  tribes  of 
North  America.     We  first  saw  Tartars  before  our  ar- 


have  reduced  the  versts  to  English  miles.    Three  versts  are  equal  to 

two  miles. 

Versts.  Milest 

From  Petersburg  to  Barnaoul 4539  .  .  .  3026 

««  Barnaoul  to  Irkutsk 1732  ...  1155 

'      «  Irkutsk  to  Yakutsk 2266  ...  1510 

«  Yakutsk  to  Okotsk 952  ...    635 

"  Okotsk  to  Awateka  in  Kamtschatka     .    .  1065  .  .  .    710 

Whole  distauce  from  Petersburg  to  Kamtschatka  10554  .  .  .  7036 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


199 


of 


ar- 


55 
10 


rival  at  Kazan ;    and   also  a  woman  with  her  nails 
painted  red,  like  the  Cochin  Chinese. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  modern  introduction  of  linen 
into  Russia,  the  garments  of  the  peasantry  still  retain 
not  only  the  form,  but  the  manner  of  ornamenting 
them,  which  was  practised  when  they  wore  skins. 
This  resembles  the  Tartar  mode  of  ornamenting,  and 
is  but  a  modification  of  the  ivampum  ornament,  which 
is  still  discernible  westward  from  Russia  to  Denmark, 
among  the  Finlanders,  Laplanders,  and  Swedes.  The 
nice  gradation  by  which  I  pass  from  civilization  to 
Incivilization  appears  in  everything ;  in  manners,  dress, 
language ;  and  particularly  in  that  remarkable  and 
important  circumstance,  color,  which  I  am  now  fully 
convinced  originates  from  natural  causes,  and  is  the 
effect  of  external  and  local  circumstances.  I  think  the 
same  of  feature .  I  see  here  the  large  mouth,  the  thick 
lip,  the  broad  flat  nose,  as  well  as  in  Africa.  I  see  also 
in  the  same  village  as  great  a  difference  of  complexion ; 
from  the  fair  hair,  fair  skin,  and  white  eyes,  to  the 
olive,  the  black  jetty  hair  and  eyes  ;  and  these  all  of  the 
same  language,  same  dress,  and,  I  suppose,  same  tribe. 
I  have  frequently  observed  in  Russian  villages,  obscure 
and  dirty,  mean  and  poor,  that  the  women  of  the  pea- 
santry paint  their  faces,  both  red  and  white.  I  have 
had  occasion  from  this  and  other  circumstances  to  sup- 
pose, that  the  Russians  are  a  people,  who  have  been 
early  attached  to  luxury.  They  are  everywhere  fond 
of  eclat.  *  Sir,'  said  a  Russian  offifcer  to  me  in  Peters- 
burg, *we  pay  no  attention  to  anything  but  eclat.^ 
The  contour  of  their  manners  is  Asiatic,  and  not  Eu- 
ropean.    The  Tartars  are  universally  neater  than  the 


200 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD* 


Russians,  particularly  in  their  houses.  The  Tartar, 
however  situated,  is  a  volujituary  ;  and  it  is  an  origi- 
nal and  striking  trait  in  their  character,  from  the 
Grand  Seignior,  to  him  who  pitches  his  tent  on  the 
■wild  frontiers  of  Russia  and  China,  that  they  are  more 
addicted  to  real  sensual  pleasure,  than  any  other  peo- 
ple. The  Emperor  of  Germany,  the  Kings  of  Eng- 
land and  France,  have  pursuits  that  give  an  entirely 
different  turn  to  their  enjoyments;  and  so  have  their 
respective  subjects.  Would  a  Tartar  live  on  Vive  le 
Roi  ?  Would  he  spend  ten  years  in  constructing  a 
watch  ?  or  twenty  in  forming  a  telescope  ? 

"  In  the  United  States  of  America,  as  in  Russia, 
we  have  made  an  effort  to  convert  our  Tartars  to 
think  and  act  like  us;  but  to  what  effect  ?  Among 
us,  Sampson  Occum  was  pushed  the  farthest  within 
the  pale  of  civilization,  but  just  as  the  sanguine 
divine,  who  brought  him  there,  was  forming  the 
highest  expectations,  he  fled  and  sought  his  own  ely- 
sium  in  the  bosom  of  his  native  forests.  In  Russia 
they  have  had  none  so  distinguished  ;  here  they  are 
commonly  footmen,  or  lackeys  of  some  other  kind. 
The  Marquis  de  la  Fayette  had  a  young  American 
Tartar,  of  the  Onandago  tribe,  who  came  to  see  him, 
and  the  Marciiiis,  at  much  expense,  equipped  liim  in 
rich  Indian  dresses.  After  staying  some  time,  he  did 
as  Occum  did.  When  I  was  at  school  at  Mount  Ida 
[Dartmouth  College],  many  Indians  were  there,  most 
of  whom  gave  some  promise  of  being  civilized,  and 
some  were  sent  forth  to  preach  ;  but  as  far  as  I  observ- 
ed myself,  and  have  been  since  informed,  they  all 
returned  to  the  home  and  customs  of  their  fathers,  and 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


201 


followed  the  inclinations,  which  nature  had  so  deeply 
enstamped  on  their  character." 

To  these  remarks  is  here  added  part  of  a  letter, 
written  to  Mr  Jefferson  from  Barnaoul,  dated  on  the 
twentyninth  of  July,  1787. 

"  How  I  have  come  thus  far,  and  how  I  am  to  go 
still  farther,  is  an  enigma  that  I  must  disclose  to  you 
on  some  happier  occasion.  I  shall  never  be  able, 
without  seeing  you  in  person,  and  perhaps  not  then,  to 
inform  you  how  universally  and  circumstantially  the 
Tartars  resemble  the  Aborigines  of  America.  They 
are  the  same  people  ;  the  most  ancient  and  the  most 
numerous  of  any  other ;  and  had  not  a  small  sea 
divided  them,  they  would  all  have  been  still  known  by 
the  same  name.  The  cloak  of  civilization  sets  as  ill 
upon  them,  as  upon  our  American  Tartars.  They 
have  been  a  long  time  Tartars,  and  it  will  be  a  long 
time  before  they  will  be  any  other  kind  of  people. 

'*  I  shall  send  this  letter  to  Petersburg,  to  the  care  of 
Professor  Pallas.  He  will  transmit  it  to  you,  together 
with  one  for  the  Marquis,  in  the  mail  of  the  Count 
Segur.  My  health  is  perfectly  good ;  but  notwith- 
standing the  vigor  of  my  body,  my  mind  keeps  the 
start  of  me,  and  I  anticipate  my  future  fate  with  the 
most  lively  ardor.  Pity  it  is,  that  in  such  a  career  one 
should  be  subjected,  like  a  horse,  to  the  beggarly  im- 
pediments of  sleep  and  hunger. 

"  The  banks  of  the  large  rivers  in  this  country 
everywhere  abound  with  something  curious  in  the  fos- 
sil world.  I  have  found  the  leg-bone  of  a  very  large 
animal  on  the  banks  of  the  Obe,  and  have  sent  it  to 
Dr  Pallas,  re(|uesting  him  to  render  mc  uu  account  of 
36 


202 


LTfE  OP  JOHN  L^DTARD. 


n 


it  hereafter.  It  is  either  an  elephant's,  or  rhinoceros' 
bone.  The  latter  animal  has  been  in  this  country. 
There  is  a  complete  head  of  one  in  a  state  of  high 
preservation  at  Petersburg.  I  am  a  curiosity  here 
myself.  Those  who  have  heard  of  America  flock 
round  to  see  me.  Unfortunately  the  marks  on  my 
hands  *  procure  me  and  my  countrymen  the  appellation 
of  wild  men.  Among  the  better  sort  we  are  some- 
what more  known.  The  governor  and  his  family  have 
got  a  peep  at  the  history  of  our  existence,  through  the 
medium  of  an  antiquated  pamphlet  of  some  kind.  We 
have,  however,  two  stars,  that  shine  even  in  the  galaxy 
of  Barnaoul,  and  the  healths  of  Dr  Franklin  and  of 
General  Washington  have  been  drunk,  in  compliment 
to  me,  at  the  governor's  table.  I  am  treated  with  the 
greatest  hospitality  here.  Hitherto  I  have  fared  com- 
fortably when  I  could  make  a  port  anywhere,  but  when 
totally  in  the  country  I  have  been  a  little  incommoded. 
Hospitality,  however,  t  have  found  as  universal  as  the 
face  of  man.  When  you  read  this,  perhaps  two  months 
before  you  do,  if  I  do  well,  I  shall  be  at  Okotsk, 
where  I  will  do  myself  the  honor  to  trouble  you 
again,  and  if  possible  will  write  more  at  large.  My 
compliments  wait  on  all  my  Parisian  friends." 

After  spending  a  week  very  agreeably  in  Barnaoul, 
he  made  preparations  for  recommencing  his  journey. 
From  this  place  to  Irkutsk  it  was  arranged,  that  he 
should  travel  post  with  the  courier,  who  had  charge  of 
the  mail.  All  things  being  in  readiness,  he  writes, 
"  I  waited  on  the  governor  with  my  passport ;  he  was 


*  The  tattoo  marks  made  on  his  hands  at  Otaheite. 


/' 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEOYARD. 


203 


well  pleased  with  it ;  gave  me  a  corporal  to  conduct 
the  affairs  of  the  mail ;  said  1  had  nothing  to  do  but 
sit  in  the  kibitka,  and  mustered  up  French  enou&^h  to 
say,  Monsieur,  je  vuus  souliaite  un  bon  voyage.  \  took 
an  affectionate  farewell  of  the  worthy  Dr  Brown,  and 
left  Barnaoul."  The  next  stopping-place  on  the  route 
was  Tomsk,  distant  three  hundred  miles,  which  were 
passed  over  in  two  days  and  three  nights.  The  river 
Tom,  which  flows  near  this  town,  is  as  large  as  the 
Irtish,  where  it  is  crossed  by  the  main  road  above 
Tobolsk,  and  was  the  first  river  met  with  by  our  trav- 
eller since  leaving  Petersburg,  which  had  either  a 
gravelly  bottom  or  shore.  On  its  banks  were  found 
little  mounds  of  earth,  which  were  ascertained  to  have 
been  the  habitations  of  the  natives,  who  dwelt  there 
before  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Russians.* 


^^^ 


*  In  Bell's  Journey  from  Petersburg  to  Pekin,  with  ihe  Rusaian  em- 
bassy, in  the  year  1720,  the  author  gives  a  curious  account  of  the 
mounds  in  the  regions  about  Tomsk.  He  considers  them  the  tombs  of 
ancient  heroes,  who  fell  in  battle.  "  Many  persons  go  from  Tomsk,'* 
he  observes,  *'and  other  parts  every  summer  to  these  graves,  which 
they  dig  up,  and  find  among  the  ashes  of  the  dead  considerable  quan- 
ties  of  gold,  silver,  brass,  and  some  precious  stones ;  but  particularly 
hilts  of  swords  and  armour.  They  find,  also,  ornaments  of  saddles  and 
bridles,  and  other  trappings  for  horses ;  and  even  the  bonus  of  horses, 
and  sometimes  those  of  elephants.  Whence  it  appears,  that  whi-n  any 
general  or  person  of  distinction  was  interred,  all  his  arms,  his  favorite 
horse,  and  servant,  were  buried  with  him  in  the  name  grave.  I'hii 
custom  prevails  to  this  day  among  the  Kalmuks  and  other  Tar- 
tars, and  seems  to  be  of  great  antiquity.  It  appears  from  tlic  number 
of  graves,  that  many  thousands  must  have  fallen  on  those  plains,  for 
the  people  have  continued  to  dig  for  such  treasure  many  years,  and 
still  find  it  unexhausted.  They  are  sometimes,  indeed,  interrupted  and 
robbed  of  all  their  booty  by  parties  of  the  Kalmuks,  who  abhor  the 
diaturbing  the  asbei  of  the  dead,"    Vol.  1.  p.  903* 


1 


tj' 


1^ 


I 


lllf;r 


204 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


The  nights,  he  remarked,  were  very  cold,  more  so 
than  he  had  known  them  in  any  country,  where  it  was 
at  the  same  time  so  hot  by  day.  All  the  way  from 
Barnaoul,  and  particularly  in  its  neighborhood,  were 
perceiv  ed  the  ruinous  effects  of  the  violent  winds,  that 
frequently  produce  great  devastation  in  those  parts  of 
Siberia.  Forest  trees  and  fields  of  grain  were  indis- 
criminately blown  down  and  destroyed.  The  hospi- 
tality of  the  inhabitants,  however,  was  unabated. 
They  could  rarely  be  prevailed  upon  to  take  anything 
for  provisions  6r  accommodation.  On  one  occasion, 
for  as  much  barley  soup,  onions,  quass,  bread,  and 
milk,  as  made  a  hearty  meal  for  the  traveller  and  his 
corporal,  the  good  woman,  who  furnished  them,  con- 
sented to  receive  one  kopeek^  and  nothing  more.* 

They  were  detained  two  or  three  days  at  Tomsk, 
waiting  for  a  mail,  that  was  coming  by  another  route 
from  Tobolsk ;  but  the  commandant  was  affable  and 
generous,  and  did  not  allow  the  time  to  pass  heavily. 
He  was  somewhat  of  a  singularity,  being  a  French- 
man, born  in  Paris,  now  seventythree  years  old,  having 
resided  twentyfive  years  in  Siberia,  and  more  than 
thirty  in  Russia.  He  spoke  his  native  language  im- 
perfectly, and  wrote  it  still  worse.  His  favorite  topic 
was  the  dignity  of  his  birth,  and  the  high  rank  of  his 
family.  But  Ledyard  wished  to  know  more  about. 
Siberia  at  that  moment,  than  of  the  genealogy  or  rank 
of  the  families  in  France,  and  he  ventured  to  ask  the 


*  Tho  valun  of  the  kopeek  varies  at  difTrrent  times.  Lodyard  states 
it  to  have  been  about  one  tenth  of  an  English  penny,  when  ho  was  in 
Siberia.  In  Dr  Clarke's  Travels  it  is  put  down  as  equal  t«)  an  English 
halfy)enny. 


(I 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


205 


5  im- 


bout 
rank 
the 


old  man  if  the  town,  or  its  environs,  afforded  anything 
valuable  or  curious  in  natural  history.  His  answer 
was,  that  there  were  thieves,  rogues,  liars,  and  villains 
of  every  description.  The  conversation  was  pushed 
no  further  in  the  way  of  philosophical  inquiry,  for  it 
was  evident  the  Frenchman's  thoughts  had  run  very 
little  in  that  channel. 

There  was  truth  in  his  remark,  although  uttered 
somewhat  out  of  place.  Tomsk  had  long  been  the 
rendezvous  of  the  worst  class  of  exiles,  who  had  been 
banished  for  their  crimes,  and  could  not  be  expected 
to  exercise  a  very  salutary  influence  on  society,  or  to 
become  pattern  members  of  it  themselves.  Poverty 
and  wretchedness,  the  accompaniments  of  vice,  formed 
here  some  of  the  prominent  objects  in  the  foreground 
of  the  picture,  and  beggars  daily  thronged  the  streets, 
as  in  the  most  populous  regions  of  the  civilized  world. 
The  charity  and  kind  feelings  of  the  better  sort  of 
inhabitants,  however,  afforded  a  pleasing  contrast  to 
this  debasement  and  suffering.  Ledyard  observes, 
that  the  family  with  whom  he  lodged,  were  accustom- 
ed every  morning  to  lay  aside  in  the  window  ten  or 
twelve  farthing  pieces  for  the  charitable  purposes  of 
the  day.  Considering  the  extraordinary  cheapness  of 
food,  this  would  afford  relief  to  many  persons.  The 
beggars  began  their  rounds  at  an  early  hour,  and  went 
regularly  from  house  to  house,  and  were  very  rarely 
sent  away  without  something.  Those,  who  did  not 
give  money,  gave  bread.  Some  of  the  beggars  were 
in  irons.  The  people  asked  no  questions,  but  appeared 
to  give  cheerfully  and  without  grudging.  The  de-'' 
mand  was  uniformly  made,  pour  Vamour  de  Dicuj 


:•■,:?■ 


mni^ 


t 


1  .  !» 


206 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


"  for  which,"  says  the  journalist,  "  one  may  have  more 
in  this  country,  than  in  any  other  I  have  seen." 

In  ten  days  from  the  time  of  leaving  Tomsk,  the 
traveller  and  his  corporal  were  safely  arrived  in  Ir- 
kutsk, over  a  road,  of  which  he  speaks  in  no  terms  of 
commendation.  The  river  Yenissey  was  crossed  at 
the  town  of  Krasnojarsk,  where  the  commandant 
pressed  him  to  stop  long  enough  to  dine,  and  celebrat- 
ed the  event  of  a  stranger's  arrival,  with  such  free 
potations  as  to  become  intoxicated.  From  Tomsk  to 
Yenissey  the  country  exhibited  rather  an  agreeable 
aspect,  and  marks  of  cultivation.  Ledyard  observes, 
that  in  this  region  he  **  first  finds  the  real  craggy, 
peaked  hill,  or  mountain,"  and  from  Krasnojarsk  to 
Irkutsk  was  the  6rst  stony  road,  which  he  had  passed 
over  in  the  Russian  dominions.  The  streets  of  To- 
bolsk, and  some  of  the  other  towns  on  his  route,  were 
paved  with  wood. 

**  Passing  on  east  from  the  Yenissey  to  Irkutsk  the 
country  is  thinly  peopled.  A  very  few,  and  those 
miserable  houses,  are  to  be  seen  on  the  road,  and  none 
at  all  at  a  distance  from  it.  The  country  is  hilly, 
rough,  mountainous,  and  covered  with  thick  for- 
ests. The  rivers  here  also  have  all  rocky  beds,  and 
are  rapid  in  the  degree  of  three  to  five  miles  an  hour. 
The  autumnal  rains  are  begun^  and  they  have  set 
in  severely.  I  am  now  in  Irkutsk,  and  have  stayed  in 
my  quarters  all  day  to  take  a  little  rest,  after  a  very 
fatiguing  journey,  rendered  sy,hy  sundry  very  disagree- 
able circumstances ;  going  with  the  courier,  and  driv- 
ing with  wild  Tartar  horses,  at  a  most  rapid  rate,  over 
a  Wild  and  ragged  country;  breaking  and  upsetting 


."15 


'  <ifi3 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


207 


kibitkas ;  besw armed  with  musquetoes  ;  all  the  way 
hard  rains ;  and  when  I  arrived  at  Irkutsk  I  was,  and 
had  been  for  the  last  fortyeight  hours,  wet  through 
and  through,  and  covered  with  one  complete  mass  of 
mud." 


K':^^' 
\l':'--. 


k'J  . 


Ill 

1^' 

m 

W 

II 

Ki 

R(-:-; . 


i 


».v-- 


<  I 


\  ■ » 


r\ 


^ 


208 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Reb'dence  at  Irkutsk. — Miscellaneous  remarks  on  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
proi!uctions  of  the  country. — Accounts  of  the  Tartars. — Unsuccessful  attempts 
to  civilize  them. — Fur  trade  on  the  American  coast. — Visit  to  the  Lake  Bai- 
kal.— Further  remarks  on  the  character  and  manners  of  the  Kalmuks  and 
other  Tartars. — Leaves  Irkutsk  for  the  river  Lena. — Scenery  around  the 
Baikal. — Rivers  flowing  into  it. — Extraordinary  depth  of  its  waters. — They 
are  fresh,  but  contain  seals,  and  lish,  peculiar  to  the  ocean. — Estimate  of  the 
number  of  rivers  in  Siberia,  and  of  the  quantity  of  water  they  pour  into  the 
Frozen  Ocean. — Ledyard  proceeds  down  the  Lena  in  a  bateau. — Romantic 
scenery  along  the  margin  of  the  river. — Hospitality  of  the  inhabitants. — Ends 
bis  voyage  at  Yakutsk. 

Ledyard  staid  in  Irkutsk  about  ten  days,  and  his 
observations  and  general  reflections  during  that  time 
may  be  best  understood  by  extracts  from  his  journal, 
as  they  were  written  on  the  spot.  They  are  rather  in 
the  nature  of  hints  and  first  thoughts,  than  of  a  regu- 
lar narrative,  but  they  will  show  his  inquisitive  turn 
of  mind,  and  his  eagerness  for  acquiring  such  knowl- 
edge, as  accorded  with  the  general  objects  of  his 
travels. 

"  August  16th.  I  have  not  been  out  this  morning, 
but  I  shrewdly  suspect  by  what  I  see  from  my  poor 
talc  window,  that  I  shall  even  here  find  the  fashiona- 
ble follies,  the  ridiculous  extravagance,  and  ruinous 
eclat  of  Petersburg. — I  have  been  out,  and  my  suspi- 
cions were  well  founded.  Dined  with  a  brigadier,  a 
colonel,  and  a  major,  a  little  out  of  town  ;  they  are  Ger- 
mans. Had  at  the  table  a  French  exile,  who  had  been 
an  adjutant.  Scarcely  a  day  passes  but  an  exile  of  some 
'  sort  arrives.     Most  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  remote 


>f' 


t.' 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTAR^. 


209 


part  of  Siberia  are  convictc  The  country  here  was 
formerly  inhabited  by  the  Mongul  or  Kalmuk  Tartars, 
who  are,  I  conclude,  the  same  people.  Find  no 
account  of  the  Calumet.  The  French  exile  had  been 
at  Quebec,  and  thinks  the  Tartars  here  much  inferior 
to  the  American  Indians,  both  in  their  understanding 
and  persons.  I  observe  the  Tongusians  have  not  the 
Mongul  or  Kalmuk  faces,  but  moderately  long,  and 
considerably  like  the  European  face.  These  Tongu- 
sians form  the  second  class  of  Tartars,  so  obviously 
distinguishable  by  their  features  from  other  Tartars, 
and  from  Europeans.  What  I  call  the  third  class  are 
the  light  eyed  and  fair  complexioned  Tartars,  which 
class  I  believe  includes  the  Cossacs.  The  Tchuk- 
tchi  are  the  only  northern  Tartars,  that  remain  unsub- 
jected  to  the  government. 

"  The  town  of  Irkutsk  is  the  residence  of  the  Gov- 
ernor-General, Jacobi,  and  of  a  military  commander, 
and  has  in  it  two  battalions  of  infantry.  It  has  two 
thousand  poor  log  houses,  and  ten  churches.  Jacobi's 
authority  extends  from  here  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  an 
immense  territory.  I  waited  this  mornihg  on  the 
director  of  the  bank,  Mr  Karamyscheff,  who  was  a 
pupil  of  Linnaeus.  He  is  very  assiduous  to  oblige  me 
in  everything,  and  sent  for  three  Kaimuks  in  the 
dress  of  their  country.  Nothing  particularly  curious 
about  them,  but  their  pipes,  which  are  coarsely 
made  of  copper  by  themselves ;  tiie  form  altogether 
Chinese.  Karanivscheff  informs  me,  that  the  Monguls 
and  Kaimuks  are  the  same  people.  From  his  house  I 
went  with  the  Conseiller  d^Etatf  who  introduced  me 
to  Jacobi,  the  Governor.  He  is  an  old,  venerable  man, 
27 


^r 


1:1 


Siifi 


ll*- 


i 


m 


It'.' 


4  V«| 


e> 


210 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


and  although  I  believe,  with  Pallas,  that  he  is  un 
homme  de  bois,  yet  he  received  me  standing  and  un- 
covered. Our  conversation  was  merely  respecting  my 
going  with  the  post,  which  he  granted  me,  and,  be- 
sides, told  me  that  I  should  be  particularly  well  accom- 
modated, wished  me  a  successful  voyage,  and  that  my 
travels  might  be  productive  of  information  to  mankind. 
I  conversed  with  him  in  French,  through  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Conseiller. 

"  This  latter  gentleman  gave  me  the  following  in- 
formation. *  The  white  Tartars  you  saw  about  Kazan 
^^  are  natives  of  that  country,  and  we  call  them  Kazan 
Tartars.  Kazan  was  once  a  kingdom  of  theirs. 
From  this  place  to  Yakutsk  you  pass  among  the  Kal- 
muks.  At  Yakutsk  you  will  see  the  Yakuti,  and  also 
the  Tongusians,  who  are  more  personable  than  the 
Kalnmks,  or  Monguls,  and  more  sensible ;  but  the 
Yakuti  are  more  sensible  than  either.  They  are 
indeed  a  people  of  good  natural  parts  and  genius,  and 
by  experience  are  found  capable  of  any  kind  of  learn- 
ing. From  Yakutsk  you  pass  through  the  Tongusians 
all  the  wa^  to  Okotsk.  In  the  time  of  Jenghis  Khan 
the  Thibet  Tartars,  thkt  is,  the  Kalmuks,  or  Monguls, 
made  incursions  into  this  country.  We  have  two 
hundred  thousand  Russians,  and,  as  nearly  as  we  can 
estimate,  half  that  number  of  Indians  of  all  descrip- 
tions in  this  province.  Marriages  in  and  near  the  vil- 
lages take  place  between  the  Russians  and  Tartars, 
but  they  are  not  frequent.  I  believe  the  extreme  cold, 
and  want  of  snow  here  during  winter,  and  the  sudden 
change  of  weather  in  the  summer,  to  be  the  reason 
why  we  ctm  have  no  fruit  here.    We  have  often,  in  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


211 


months  of  May  and  June,  ice  three  and  fo  r  inche:; 
thick.  Besides,  this  country,  as  you  have  ol-HMvod,  is 
subject  to  terrible  gales  of  wind,  which  blow  away 
both  bud  and  blossom.  We  have  nevertheless  a  few 
little  apples,  which  we  eat  at  our  tables,  and  they  are 
not  without  flavor.'     Thus  much  the  Conseiller. 

"  The  forest  trees  in  this  country  are  almost  alto- 
gether birch  ;  they  are  generally  rotten  at  the  heart. 
Mr  Karamyscheff  tells  me,  that  there  are  many  bones 
of  the  rhinoceros  in  these  parts  of  Siberia,  and  also 
the  same  large  bones,  that  are  found  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio  in  America.  It  seems,  that  the  places  in 
which  to  find  those  bones,  and  other  curious  fossils, 
are  at  the  mouths  of  the  great  rivers  Yenissey,  Lena, 
Kolyma,  and  others,  among  the  islands  that  are  formed 
where  they  flow  into  the  sea.  Here  they  are  all 
lodged,  after  having  been  washed  from  under  ground 
by  the  rivers  in  the  different  countries,  which  they 
traverse. 

"  August  17th.  Today  it  seems  the  jubilee  is  ob- 
served, on  account  of  the  Empress  having  reigned 
twentyfive  years.  In  coming  from  Karamyscheff's  I 
met  the  Governor-General  and  his  suite  of  officers, 
the  brigadier  I  dined  with  yesterday,  and  other  digni- 
taries, to  the  number  of  two  hundred,  all  going  to 
dine  with  the  Governor,  who  keeps  open  house  on  the 
occasion.  The  governor  and  other  officers  saluted  me 
as  they  passed  ;  those,  who  did  not  know  me,  wonder- 
ing what  could  procure  such  attention  to  one  so  poorly 
and  oddly  attired.  I  was  pressed  by  some  of  the 
company  to  go  and  dine.  Had  my  clothes  been  good, 
I  would  have  gone.    But  I  dined  with  Karamyscheff. 


W' 


212 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


It  is  a  Tartar  name,  and  he  is  of  Tartarian  extraction. 
Saw  an  appletree  in  his  garden.  The  fruit,  as  he  de- 
scribed it,  would  be  as  large  as  a  full  sized  pea  in 
France  or  England.  It  is  the  genuine  appletree,  and 
their  naturalists  distinguish  it  by  the  name  of  the 
pyrus  baccata.  These  are  the  only  apples  in  Siberia. 
"Karamyschefif  says  the  Yakuti  Tartars  are  the 
veritables  Tartars,  by  which  I  understand,  that  they 
are  a  less  mixed  race  than  the  others.  Their  language 
he  says  is  the  oldest  language,  and  that  other  tribes 
understand  it.  The  Yakuti  formerly  possessed  this 
country,  but  they  were  driven  out  by  the  Kalmuks, 
who  made  a  succession  of  attacks  upon  them,  and 
pursued  them  to  the  Lena,  down  which  they  fled,  and 
settled  at  Yakutsk.  KaramyschefF  has  in  his  house 
four  children  descended  from  a  Kalmuk  father  and 
Russian  mother.  The  first  resembles  the  father,  and 
is  entirely  Kalmuk ;  the  second  the  mother,  with  fair 
hair  and  eyes ;  one  of  the  others  is  Kalmuk,  and  the 
other  Russian.  They  are  all  healthy  and  well  look- 
ing children.  I  saw  three  of  them.  KaramyschefF 
knows  not  among  what  people  to  rank  the  Kamtscha- 
dales.  He  acknowledges  with  me,  that  their  faces 
are  entirely  Kalmuk,  but  says  they  came  from  Ameri- 
ca. This  controverts  the  common  opinion,  that 
America  was  peopled  after  Asia.  But  he  is  carried 
away  with  the  wild  notions  of  the  French  naturalist, 
Buffon.  I  find  universally,  that  the  Tartars  wear 
their  beards.  The  ears  of  Kalmuk,  or  Mongul  Tar- 
tars, project  universally  farther  from  the  head,  than 
those  of  Europeans.  I  measured  the  ears  of  the  Kal- 
muks  at  Karamyschefif 's  today,  and  on  an  average 


»,  * 


1/ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


213 


ihey  projected  one  and  a  half  inch,  and  they  were  by 
no  means  extraordinary  examples.  The  ears  of  the 
Chinese  are  similar. 

"  We  have  French  and  Spanish  wines  here,  but  so 
adulterated,  that  I  was  told  of  it  before  I  knew  it  to 
be  wine.  Karamyscheff  is  fully  sensible  of  the  luxury 
and  vanity  I  complain  of  in  this  country,  which  is 
but  beginning  to  begin,  as  I  told  him  today.  He 
laments  it,  and  declared  frankly  to  me,  that  patriot- 
ism and  the  true  solid  virtues  of  a  citizen  are  hardly 
known.  The  geographical  termination  of  Russia, 
and  ,the  commencement  of  Siberia,  is  at  the  city 
of  Perm.  The  natural  boundary  is  the  river  Yenis- 
sey.  I  observe  that  the  face  of  the  country  is  very 
different  on  this  side  of  the  Yenissey,  and  Karamy- 
scheff, who  is  a  botanist,  says  the  vegetable  produc- 
tions differ  as  much.  ' 

"  August  1 8th.  Went  this  morning  to  see  some 
curiosities  from  different  parts  of  Siberia.  Saw  also 
a  piece  of  Sandwich  Island  cloth,  which  was  obtained 
from  Captain  Cook's  ship  at  Kamtschalka,  when  he 
was  there.  In  the  collection  was  the  skin  of  a  Chi- 
nese goat,  the  hair  of  which  was  the  whitest,  longest, 
and  most  delicate  that  I  ever  saw  ;  also  some  excel- 
lent sea-otter  skins,  the  largest  of  which  were  valued 
at  two  hundred  roubles  ;  likewise  a  bow,  quiver,  and 
all  the  military  apparatus  of  a  Kalmuk,  which  was 
very  heayy.  The  Kalmuks  and  Mohguls  here  receive 
the  common  name  of  the  Buretti. 

I  went  to  the  Archbishop's  to  see  a  young  savage  of 
the  Tchuktchi.  The  good  bishop  had  taken  great 
pains  to  humanize  him  (as  Dr  W^eelock  had  done 


J. . 


h  it 


•^■*  ^r- 


214 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


with  Sampson  Occum,  whose  story  I  related  on  this 
occasion) ;  but  he  informed  us,  that  he  had  lately 
taken  to  drink,  and  died  drunk ;  or,  in  the  bishop's 
own  words,  *  somebody  had  one  day  given  him  half  a 
rouble,  and  he  went  out  with  it,  but  never  returned, 
and  was  found  dead  by  the  side  of  a  Kabak.'  Dined 
with  my  friend  Karamyscheff  again  today,  who  pre- 
sented me,  in  lieu  of  a  domestic,  a  young  lieutenant 
to  go  with  me  and  buy  a  few  things  ;  *  But,'  said  he, 
*  don't  put  any  money  in  his  hands,  he  will  not  return 
it.'  We  had  .at  table  the  wife  of  a  clerk  to  Mr 
Karamyscheff,  whose  mother  was  a  savage  from  the 
Tchuktchi  regions,  and  her  father  a  Russian.  She  is 
a  fine  creature,  and  her  complexion  a  good  middling 
color.  It  strengthens  my  opinion,  that  the  difference 
of  color  in  man  is  not  the  effect  of  any  design  in  the 
Creator,  but  of  causes  simple  in  themselves,  which 
will  perhaps  soon  be  well  ascertained.  It  is  an  extra- 
ordinary circumstance,  but  I  think  I  ought  not  on  that 
account  to  conclude,  that  it  is  not  the  result  of  natural 
causes. 

"  August  19th.  For  the  second  time  I  have  ob- 
served, that  in  the  wells,  about  twelve  feet  down, 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  ice  adhering  to  the  sides.  I 
went  this  morning  to  see  a  merchant,  who  was  the 
owner  of  a  vessel,  that  had  passed  from  Kamtschatka 
to  different  parts  of  the  coast  of  America.  He 
showed  me  some  charts  rudely  descriptive  of  his  voy- 
ages ;  says  there  are,  on  different  parts  of  the  coast 
of  America,  two  thousand  Russians ;  and  that,  as 
nearly  as  he  can  judge,  the  number  of  skins,  procured 
by  them  in  that  country,  amounts  to  twelve  thousand. 


/./ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


216 


He  has  a  vessel  at  Okotsk,  which  leaves  that  place  for 
America  next  summer,  and  he  offers  me  a  passage  in 
her. 

*'  Dined  today  with  a  German  colonel,  and  after 
dinner  set  out  for  the  Lake  Baikal,  which,  in  the  Kal- 
niuk  language,  signifies  the  North  Sea,  The  Kalmuks, 
or  Mongols,  originally  lived  on  the  south  of  this  lake, 
towards  China  and  Thibet.  After  a  gpod  and  cheer- 
ful dinner  with  the  colonel,  we  mounted  his  drosky, 
with  post  horses,  and  took  our  departure  for  the  lake. 
After  seven  hours'  ride  over  a  miserable  road,  we  ar- 
rived at  the  little  hamlet  of  St  Nicholas,  where  for- 
merly the  Russian  ambassadors  resided,  before  they 
embarked  to  cross  the  lake  for  China.  This  village 
has  a  church  in  it,  dedicated  to  St  Nicholas,  and  all 
the  sailors  on  the  lake  resort  to  it.  We  lodged  here 
through  the  night,  and  early  next  morning  resumed 
our  journey,  and  reached  the  border  of  the  lake.  Here 
are  six  or  seven  houses,  among  which  the  largest  was 
ordered  to  be  built  by  the  Empress  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  all  strangers  that  pass  this  way  ;  and  also  a 
galliot,  which  plies  as  a  packet  in  the  summer  across 
the  lake. 

"  We  hailed  the  galliot,  which  was  at  anchor  in  the 
lake.  The  captain  came  ashore,  and  we  went  off 
with  him  in  a  small  boat,  with  line  and  lead  to  take 
soundings ;  but  having  only  fifty  fathoms  of  line,  and 
it  raining  very  hard,  we  could  not  make  much  progress. 
At  the  distance  of  one  hundred  feet  from  the  shore, 
my  whole  length  of  line  was  taken  up.  We  retired  to 
the  house,  breakfasted,  and  waited  an  hour  for  the  rain 
to  abate ;  but,  finding  it  to  continue,  we  requested  the 


:;i:.' 


216 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


captain  to  send  us  in  his  boat  to  Irkutsk.  He  com- 
plied with  our  request,  and  made  us  a  canopy  of  hides 
to  defend  us  from  the  rain.  We  sent  our  drosky  back 
by  the  postboy,  and  embarked  with  two  sailors  to 
row  us.  We  passed  along  the  margin  of  the  lake  to 
the  outlet,  where  the  river  Angara  begins,  and  thence 
down  the  river  to  Irkutsk,  a  distance  of  about  forty- 
five  miles.  This  lake  is  seven  hundred  and  sixtynine 
versts  (five  hundred  and  thirteen  miles)  in  its  longest 
part,  and  sixty  versts  (forty  miles)  in  its  broadest.  Its 
depth  is  said  to  be  unfathomable.  It  has  an  annual 
ebb  and  flux  ;  the  one  is  caused  by  the  autumnal  rains, 
and  the  other  by  the  dry  season  in  spring.  It  has 
emptying  into  it  one  hundred  and  sixtynine  small 
streams,  from  twenty  to  eighty  yards  wide,  and  three 
larger  ones  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  mile  wide.  It  has 
but  one  outlet,  by  which  to  dispose  of  the  redundancy 
from  all  these  influxes,  and  that  is  the  river  Angara, 
which  is  a  Kalmuk  name.  It  is  no  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  wide,  where  it  springs  from  the  lake,  is 
very  shallow,  and  far  from  being  rapid. 

^^  August  22d.  The  government  of  Irkutsk  has 
four  provinces,  namely,  Irkutsk,  Yakutsk, Nartschintsk, 
and  Okotsk.  These  are  divided  into  several  districts 
each.  The  governor  sent  me  a  surveyor,  with  the 
latest  chart  of  the  great  territory  embracing  these 
provinces.  By  measurement  I  found  its  latitudinal 
extent,  from  its  southern  extremity  to  the  Icy  Ocean 
north,  to  be  two  thousand  seven  hundred  versts,  and 
its  longitudinal  extent,  from  its  western  boundary  to 
Tchuktchi  Nos,  its  eastern  extremity  at  Bering's 
Strait,  to  be  three  thousand  nine  hundred  versts. 


it 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


217 


.  has 
ntsk, 

ricts 
the 

lese 
dinal 

cean 
and 

ry  to 

ing's 


"  I  am  informed  by  the  Governor,  that  the  post  will 
not  be  ready  for  three  days. 

"  August  23d.  The  commerce  of  Irkutsk  is  very 
small  with  Europe,  and  consequently  at  present  at  a 
very  low  ebb,  since  there  is  no  open  trade  with  the 
Chinese,  its  nearest  neighbors  of  a  commercial  charac- 
ter. The  frontiers,  between  this  country  and  China, 
are  principally  defended  by  an  army  of  Buretti,  or 
Kalmuk  Tartars.  They  are  mostly  horsemen,  like 
the  Cossacs  in  the  western  dominions,  and  amount  to 
more  than  five  thousand  men.  There  are  two  con- 
vents near  this  town,  one  of  men  and  the  other  of 
women,  separated  by  a  river.  I  observe  in  Siberia, 
that  in  all  the  cities  there  is  one  great  burying  place, 
and  that  wherever  this  is  (and  it  is  commonly  out  of 
the  town),  there  is  likewise  a  church,  and  the  best 
chuich  of  the  place.  This  is  but  another  kind  of 
pyramid,  a  large  mound,  or  a  mound  modified.  i 

^'  August  25th.  This  morning  I  leave  town.  The 
land  is  well  cultivated  on  the  borders  of  the  river,  and 
is  good.  Among  the  Buretti,  or  Kalmuks,  I  observe 
the  American  moccasin^  the  common  moccasin,  like 
the  Finland  moccasin.  The  houses  of  the  Buretti 
have  octagonal  sides,  covered  with  turf,  with  a  fireplace 
in  the  centre,  and  an  aperture  for  smoke ;  the  true 
American  wigwam^  and  like  the  first  Tartar  house  I 
saw  in  this  country,  which  was  near  Kazan.  Mr 
Karamyscheff  says  they  have  the  wild  horse  on  their 
Chinese  frontiers.  The  Buretti  here  ride  and  work 
the  horned  cattle  ;  they  perforate  the  cartilage  of  the 
nose,  and  put  a  cord  through  it  to  guide  them  by.  This 


m 


■*ii. 


218 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


mm^i 


is  to  be  wondered  at,  as  the  country  is  level,  and  they 
have  vast  droves  of  horses. 

"  August  26th.  Hard  white  frost  last  night,  and 
very  cold.  Run  away  with  by  these  furious  unbroke 
Tartar  horses,  and  saved  myself  each  time  by  jump- 
ing out  of  the  kibitka.  Thank  Heaven,  ninety  versts 
more  will  probably  put  an  end  to  my  kibitka  journey- 
ing for  ever." 

Such  are  some  of  the  brief  notes  entered  in  his 
journal,  while  he  was  at  Irkutsk.  He  was  detained 
on  account  of.  the  delay  of  the  post,  and  made  the 
best  use  of  his  time  in  collecting  such  information,  as 
he  supposed  would  be  serviceable  to  him  in  his  future 
travels.  The  inquiries,  of  which  he  was  peculiarly 
fond,  respecting  the  different  races  of  men,  their  ori- 
gin, classification,  and  distinctions,  were  here  pursued 
with  his  customary  diligence  and  discrimination.  -But 
it  should  always  be  borne  in  mind,  that  he  did  not 
intend  his  journal  for  anything  more  than  a  repository 
of  loose  hints,  which  might  assist  his  recollection, 
when  the  occasion  for  using  them  should  occur. 
They  were  never  afterwards  revised,  or  altered,  but 
have  been  preserved  in  the  original  form,  in  which  he 
recorded  them  on  his  journey.  This  fact  should 
claim  for  them  all  the  indulgence,  which  their  incohe- 
rency,  or  want  of  maturity,  may  seem  to  require. 

The  Lake  Baikal  in  some  respects  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  bodies  of  water  on  the  globe.  Other 
travellers  have  given  its  dimensions  somewhat  differ- 
ently from  Ledyard,  varying  from  three  hundred  to 
six  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  from  fortyfive  to  sixty 
miles  in  width  where  it  is  the  broadest.     Ledyard 


(.' 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


219 


probably  measured  it  on  the  chart  just  mentioned.  Ail 
travellers  agree,  however,  that  the  scenery  around  this 
lake  is  the  most  picturesque,  bold,  and  imposing  im- 
aginable. The  Angara  bursts  out  from  the  lake,  be- 
tween immense  battlements  of  perpendicular  rocks, 
which,  if  we  may  judge  from  Bell's  description  of  them, 
surpass  in  grandeur  the  famous  passage  of  the  Poto- 
mac through  the  Blue  Ridge  at  Harper's  Ferry.  For 
about  a  mile  after  leaving  the  lake,  there  is  a  continu- 
ed rapid,  extending  across  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
stream,  and  admitting  of  no  boat  communication,  ex- 
cept by  a  narrow  channel  on  the  east  side,  up  which 
boats  are  towed,  and  propelled  with  poles,  from  the 
village  of  St  Nicholas  into  the  lake.  Around  the  en- 
tire circumference  of  the  lake,  and  particularly  on  the 
north,  lofty  and  craggy  mountains  are  seen  piled  one 
above  another,  in  the  wildest  confusion,  and  masses  of 
rock  rising  like  towers  from  the  very  margin  of  the 
water.  Down  the  ravines  and  precipices  thus  formed, 
the  numerous  tributary  streams  pour  themselves  into 
this  great  reservoir.  Pallas  was  inclined  to  believe, 
that  the  enormous  gulf,  which  forms  the  basin  oi  the 
Baikal,  was  caused  by  a  violent  disruption  of  the  earth, 
at  some  very  remote  period. 

The  Selinga,  a  river  which  empties  itself  into  this 
lake  from  the  south,  is  larger  at  its  mouth  than  the 
Angara,  where  it  issues  from  the  lake.  It  has  its 
source  in  the  Chinese  dominions,  and  is  navigable  for 
many  miles  into  the  interior.  Another  river,  called 
the  eastern  Angara,  and  probably  larger  than  the 
Selinga,  comes  in  from  the  north.  To  these  must  be 
added  the  contributions  of  more  than  a  hundred  and 


220 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


sixty  Other  streams  of  various  sizes.  It  is  difficult  to 
imagine,  what  becomes  of  the  immense  quantity  of 
water  thus  poured  into  the  lake,  when  it  is  considered 
that  there  is  but  a  single  outlet.  The  width  of  this 
outlet  Ledyard  states  at  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  but 
Bell  says  it  appeared  to  him  a  mile.  In  either  case 
the  water  discharged  by  it  would  be  in  no  proportion 
to  the  quantity,  which  falls  into  the  lake.  In  a 
warmer  region,  as  in  that  where  the  lake  Tsad  is 
situate  in  Africa,  the  surplus  might  be  easily  disposed 
of  by  evaporation,  but  in  so  cold  a  climate  as  that  of 
Irkutsk,  this  is  hardly  possible.  The  conjecture  of  an 
internal  communication  with  the  great  ocean,  would 
seem  to  afford  the  only  plausible  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty. Lake  Superior  contains  a  larger  body  of  water, 
has  a  small  outlet,  and  is  in  a  climate  perhaps  as  cold, 
but  it  receives  comparatively  slender  contributions 
from  rivers.  A  similar  remark  may  be  made  as  to  the 
Caspian  Sea,  and  the  Sea  of  Aral.  The  water  of  the 
Baikal  is  fresh.  No  bottom  has  ever  yet  been  reached 
bv  the  soundins:  line.  When  Bell  crossed  it,  a  hun- 
dred  years  ago,  with  the  Russian  ambassador  on  his 
way  to  Pekin,  a  line  of  more  than  nine  hundred  feet 
in  length  was  let  down,  without  touching  the  bottom. 
The  report  of  Professor  Pallas  on  this  point  is  not  so 
explicit,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  a  scientific 
traveller.  ,  He  says,  that  a  ball  of  packthread,  weigh- 
ing more  than  an  ounce^  had  been  used  as  a  sounding 
line,  but  no  bottom   was   found.**     What  length  he 


*  "  Le  Baikal  a  unc  si  grande  profondeur  dans  le  milieu,  et  sur  les 
cdtes  septentrionalcB,  qu'on  a  d^roul^  un  peloton  de  ficelle  pesant  plus 
d'une  once,  pour  sonder,  sana  trouver  de  fond."  Voyages  du  Profu* 
teur  PalUu,  Tom.  VI.  p.  118. 


// 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


221 


would  assign  to  an  ounce  of  packthread  is  not  revealed 
to  his  readers.  We  have  seen,  that  one  hundred  feet 
from  the  shore,  Ledyard's  line  of  three  hundred  feet 
met  with  no  obstruction.  On  all  sides  the  shore  is 
bold  and  dangerous,  with  hardly  an  anchoring  place, 
except  at  the  mouths  of  the  large  rivers.  If  the  water 
could  be  removed,  there  would  probably  be  exposed  a 
cavity,  or  fissure,  equal  to  the  present  dimensions  of 
the  lake,  and  extending  to  a  great  depth  into  the 
earth.  Professor  Pallas  thinks  the  ordinary  level  of 
the  lake  was  once  higher,  and  that  it  flowed  over  the 
low  country  at  the  mouth  of  the  Selinga,  which  is 
now  inhabited.  No  lava,  or  volcanic  appearances,  have 
been  noticed  in  the  regions  about  the  lake. 

It  is  considered  very  remarkable,  that  the  fish  called 
Chien  de  mer  is  found  in  the  Baikal.  This  is  men-> 
tioned  by  Pallas  and  Ledyard.  The  natural  element 
of  this  fish  is  the  ocean,  and  it  is  very  rarely  known,  as 
the  Professor  says,  to  enter  rivers  even  for  a  small 
distance.  How  it  should  get  into  the  Baikal,  a  fresh 
water  lake  at  least  three  thousand  miles  from  the 
ocean,  taking  the  windings  of  the  river  into  the  ac- 
count, is  deemed  a  problem  of  no  easy  solution,  espe- 
cially as  this  fish  has  never  been  known  either  in  the 
Yenissey,  or  Angara,  by  which  the  waters  of  the  lake 
pass  into  the  Northern  Sea.*  He  is  not  satisfied  with 
this  course  of  migration,  and  would  look  for  a  more 
extraordinary  cause,  but  does  not  venture  an  opinion 
on  the  subject.  The  Baikal  contains  seals,  also,  whose 
usual  residence  is  in  the  salt  water.     Whether  they 

*  The  Angara  falls  into  the  Yenissey  on  its  way  to  tiie  ocean. 


;:. 


I'l    It'* 


i|| 

11' 

m 

m 

mm\ 

222 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


came  up  the  Yenissey  and  Angara,  is  another  ques- 
tion to  be  settled.  Bell  thinks  they  did.  Pallas  is 
silent  on  the  subject,  and  so  is  Ledyard.  The  skins 
of  these  seals  are  preferred  to  those  of  salt  water 
seals.  The  inhabitants  have  a  treacherous  mode  of 
taking  these  animals.  In  winter  the  seals  are  obliged 
occasionally  to  come  up  through  holes  in  the  ice  for 
respiration  ;  over  these  holes  the  seal-catcher  spreads 
nets,  in  which  the  unwary  animal  is  entangled,  when 
he  escapes  from  his  nether  element. 

In  the  part  of  the  journal  to  which  we  have  now 
come,  are  contained  some  curious  speculations  respect- 
ing the  number  of  rivers  in  Siberia,  and  the  quantity 
of  water,  which  is  continually  disembogued  by  them 
into  the  Northern  Ocean.  On  his  route  from  Moscow 
to  Irkutsk,  Ledyard  had  crossed  twenty  five  large  navi- 
gable rivers,  whose  courses  were  north.  The  Yenis- 
sey, where  he  passed  it,  runs  at  the  rate  of  about  five 
miles  an  hour,  and  generally  the  rivers  on  the  east  of 
the  Yenissey  run  two  or  three  miles  in  an  hour  swifter 
than  the  western  ones,  between  the  Yenissey  and 
Moscow.  He  thinks  these  twentyfive  rivers,  taken 
together,  had  an  average  width  of  half  a  mile  where  he 
crossed  them.  He,  also,  ascertained  that  there  were 
twelve  rivers  of  a  similar  description  between  Irkutsk 
and  Kamtschatka,  making  in  all  thirtyseven.  Allowing 
these  rivers  to  be  twice  as  wide  at  their  mouths,  as  at 
these  interior  points,  which  is  evidently  a  moderate 
estimate,  we  shall  have  a  column  of  water  thirtyseven 
miles  wide,  and  of  the  average  depth  of  rivers  a  mile 
in  width,  constantly  flowing  into  the  Frozen  Ocean, 
with  a  velocity  of  at  least  three  or  four  miles  an  hour. 


// 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


223 


i-'U-  *. 


His  inference  from  the  whole  is,  that  such  an  im- 
mense body  of  fresh  water  incessantly  discharged,  at 
points  so  near  each  other  and  so  near  the  pole,  must 
have  a  sensible  effect  in  creating  and  perpetuating  the 
ice  in  those  latitudes.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of 
this  theory,  it  is  an  unquestionable  fact,  that  a 
much  larger  quantity  of  water  is  conveyed  by  rivers 
from  Siberia  into  the  Frozen  Ocean,  than  runs  into 
the  sea  in  any  other  part  of  the  globe,  within  the 
same  compass.  Whether  these  streams  are  mainly 
fed  by  native  springs,  or  by  the  melting  of  snows,  and 
whether  the  superabundance  of  these  snows  is  pro- 
duced by  vapors  wafted  from  warmer  climes,  are 
topics  of  inquiry  that  must  be  left  to  those,  who  are 
inclined  to  pursue  them.  Snow  cannot  be  formed 
without  moisture,  but  where  the  surface  of  the  earth 
is  bound  in  frost  six  or  eight  months  in  a  year,  there 
can  be  little  evaporation  or  moisture.  If  snow  still 
continues  to  fall  and  accumulate,  whence  is  it  that  the 
atmosphere  is  surcharged  with  the  vapors  necessary 
for  this  operation  ? 

We  left  our  traveller  with  his  kibitka,  on  his  first 
day^s  journey  from  Irkutsk  northward.  It  was  now 
the  twentysixth  of  August,  and  the  forest  trees  had 
begun  to  drop  their  foliage,  and  put  on  the  garb  of 
autumn.  The  country  in  the  environs  of  Irkutsk  was 
well  cultivated,  containing  fine  fields  of  wheat,  rye, 
barley,  extensive  pasture  lands,  and  a  good  breed  of 
cattle.  The  sheep  were  of  the  large-tailed  kind,  such 
as  are  found  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hopej  but  the  mut- 
ton was  not  well  flavored. 


ir  v'f 


iM,t 


fii,ii 


a^A 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


In  company  with  Lieutenant  Laxman,  a  Swedish 
officer,  Ledyard  embarked  on  the  river  Lena,  at  a 
point  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant  from  Irkutsk, 
with  the  intention  of  floating  down  its  current  to 
Yakutsk.  This  river  navigation  was  fourteen  hundred 
miles.  Where  they  entered  their  boat,  the  stream 
was  no  more  than  twenty  yards  broad,  with  here  and 
there  gentle  rapids,  and  high,  rugged  mountains  on 
each  side.  They  were  carried  along  from  eighty  to 
a  hundred  miles  a  day,  the  river  gradually  increasing 
in  size,  and  the  mountain  scenery  putting  on  an 
infinite  variety  of  forms,  alternately  sublime  and 
picturesque,  bold  and  fantastic,  with  craggy  rocks 
and  jutting  headlands,  bearing  on  their  brows  the 
verdure  of  pines,  firs,  larches,  and  other  evergreens, 
and  Alpine  shrubs.  All  the  way  to  Yakutsk,  the 
river  was  studded  with  islands,  recurring  at  short 
intervals,  which  added  to  the  romantic  effect  of  the 
scenery,  and  made  a  voyage  down  the  Lena,  not- 
withstanding its  many  privations,  by  no  means  an  un- 
pleasant trip  to  a  true  lover  of  nature,  and  a  hardy, 
veteran  traveller.  The  weather  was  growing  cold, 
and  heavy  fogs  hung  about  the  river  till  a  late  hour  in 
the  morning.  They  daily  passed  small  towns  and 
villages,  where  they  went  ashore  for  provisions,  or  re- 
freshment, as  occasion  required.        ->  '  - 

^^  August  30th.  We  stopped  at  a  village  this 
morning  to  procure  a  few  stores.  They  killed  for  us 
a  sheep,  gave  us  three  quarts  of  milk,  two  loaves  of 
bread,  cakes  with  carrots  and  radishes  baked  in  them, 
onions,  one  dozen  of  fresh  and  two  dozen  of  salt  fish, 
straw  and  bark  to  mend  the  covering  of  our  boat ; 


/./' 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


225 


«i 


and  all  for  ihe  value  of  about  fourteen  pence  sterling. 
The  poor  creatures  brought  us  the  straw,  to  show  us 
how  their  grain  was  blasted  by  the  cruel  frost,  although 
it  had  been  reaped  before  the  twentyfirst  of  August. 
The  peasants  say  the  mountains  here  are  full  of  bears 
and  wolves.  We  have  seen  a  plenty  of  wild  fowl, 
which  we  shoot  as  we  please.  In  the  river  is  the 
salmon-trout.  The  people  fish  with  seines,  and  also 
with  spears  by  torchlight.  This  latter  custom  is  a 
very  universal  one ;  they  fish  with  a  torch  at  Otaheite. 
The  double  headed  or  Esquimaux  paddle  is  used  here. 

"  September  2d.  My  rascal  of  a  soldier  stole  our 
brandy,  and  got  drunk,  and  was  impertinent.  I  was 
obliged  to  handle  him  roughly  to  preserve  order.— i- 
Fixed  a  little  sail  to  our  boat. 

*'  September  4th.  Arrived  at  the  town  of  Keringa 
at  daylight,  and  stayed  with  the  commandant  till  noon, 
and  was  treated  very  hospitably.  Some  merchants 
sent  us  stores.  It  is  the  custom  here,  if  they  hear  of 
the  arrival  of  a  foreigner,  to  load  him  with  their  little 
services.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  pass  a  town  of 
any  kind,  without  being  arrested  by  them.  They 
have  the  earnestness  of  hospitality ;  they  crowd  their 
tables  with  everything  they  have  to  eat  and  drink,  and, 
not  content  with  that,  they  fill  your  wallet.  I  wish  I 
couid  think  them  as  honest,  as  they  are  hospitable. 
The  reason  why  the  commandant  did  not  show  his 
wife,  was  because  he  was  jealous  of  her.  I  have 
observed  this  to  be  a  prevailing  passion  here.  The 
river  on  each  side  as  we  pass  is  bounded  by  vast 
rocky  cliffs,  the  highest  mass  of  rocks  I  ever  saw.  . 
29 


■!;■    , 


MM:  »!x:  ■ 


^26 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


"  September  15th.  Snow  squalls  with  fresh  gales  ; 
up  all  night  at  the  helm  m)^self. 

^*  September  17th.  Ninety  versts  from  Yakutsk. 
Passed  yesterday  a  very  odd  arrangement  of  rocks, 
which  line  the  margin  of  the  river  for  sixty  versts. 
They  are  of  talc,  and  appear  formerly  to  have  been 
covered  with  earth,  but  are  now  entirely  bare.  They 
are  all  of  a  pyramidal  form,  and  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  height ;  detached  at  their  bases,  and 
disposed  with  extraordinary  regularity.  These  rocky 
pyramids  a])pear  to  terminate  the  long  mountainous 
south  and  east  banks  of  the  Lena,  which  have  uni- 
formly continued  from  Katchuga,  where  1  first  em- 
barked on  the  river." 

On  the  eighteenth  of  September  he  arrived  at  Ya- 
kutsk, after  a  fatiguing  voyage  of  twentytwo  days,  in 
a  small  bateau  on  the  Lena.  During  this  period,  he 
had  passed  from  a  summer  climate  to  one  of  rigorous 
cold.  When  he  left  Irkutsk,  it  was  just  in  the  midst 
of  harvest  time,  and  the  reapers  were  in  the  fields ; 
but  when  he  entered  Yakutsk,  the  snow  was  six 
inches  deep,  and  the  boys  were  whipping  their  tops 
on  the  ice.  He  debarked  from  his  bateau  two  miles 
above  the  town,  and  there  mounted  a  sledge,  drawn  by 
an  ox,  with  a  Yakuti  Indian  on  his  back,  and  guided 
by  a  cord  passing  through  the  cartilage  of  his  nose.  -^ 


^    tV'rV-o-L-t^  •H-t*.'-< 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


227 


i.i^   -rt-fjA 


CHAPTER  X. 

Interview  with  the  Commandant  of  Yakutsk. — Stopped  at  this  place  on  account 
of  the  advanced  state  of  the  season. — His  severe  disappointment  at  this 
event.-^Detained  imder  false  pretences. — Takes  up  his  residence  in  Yakutsk 
for  the  winter. — Elephant's  bones  on  the  banks  of  the  Lena,  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  country. — General  remarks  on  the  various  tribes  of  Tartars  in 
Siberia. — Characteristics  of  savages  in  cold  and  warm  climates. — Kalmuks 
have  two  modes  of  writing. — Their  manner  of  living. — The  Yakuti  Tartars. — 
Influence  of  religion  upon  them. — The  love  of  freedom  common  to  all  the 
Tartars. — Their  dwellings. — Intermarriages  between  the  Russians  and  Tar- 
tars. — In  what  degree  the  color  of  descendants  is  affected  by  such  intermar- 
riages. — Peculiarities  of  features  in  the  Tartar  countenance. — Form  and  use  of 
the  Tartar  pipe. — Dress. — Difficulty  of  taking  vocabularies  of  unknown  lan> 
guages. — Marriage  ceremonies. — Notions  of  theology. — Practice  of  scalping. — 
Wampum. — Classification  of  the  Tartars  and  North  American  Indians. — 
Language  a  criterion  for  judging  of  the  affinity  between  the  different  races  of 
men. — Causes  of  the  difference  of  color  in  the  human  race.— Tartars  and 
American  Indians  the  same  people. 

Ledyard  immediately  waited  on  the  commandant, 
delivered  his  letter  from  the  Governor  General,  and 
made  known  his  situation  and  designs.  It  was  his 
wish  to  press  forward  with  as  much  expedition  as  pos- 
sible to  Okotsk,  lest  the  winter  should  shut  in  before 
he  could  reach  that  town,  where  he  hoped  to  seize 
upon  the  first  opportunity  in  the  spring,  to  secure  a 
passage  to  the  American  continent.  The  distance 
from  Yakutsk  was  between  six  and  seven  hundred 
miles.  Lodgings  were  provided  for  him  by  order  of 
the  Commandant,  with  whom  he  had  already  dined, 
and  who  soon  after  came  to  see  him.  Imagine  his 
dismay,  when  the  Commandant  assured  him,  that  the 
season  was  already  so  far  advanced  as  to  render  a 
journey  to  Okotsk  impossible. 


228 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


"  What,  alas,  shall  I  do,"  exclaims  he  in  his  journal, 
"  for  I  am  miserably  prepared  for  this  unluoked  for  de- 
lay.    By  remaining  here  through  the  winter,  I  cannot 
expect  to  resume  my  march  until  May,  which  wifl  be 
eight  months.     My  funds!     I  have  but  two  long  fro- 
zen stages  more,  and   I  shall  be  beyond  the  want,  or 
aid  of  money,  until,  emerging  from  the  deep  deserts, 
I  gain  the  American  Atlantic  States ;  and  then,  thy 
glowing  climates,  Africa,  explored,  1  will  lay  me  down, 
and  claim  my  Utile  portion  of  the  globe  I  have  viewr 
ed ;  may  it  not  be  before.     How  many  of  the  noble 
minded  have  been  subsidiary  to  me,  or  to  my  enter- 
prises ;  yet  that  meagre  demon.  Poverty,  has  travelled 
with  me  hand  in  hand  over  half  the  globe,  and  wit- 
nessed what — the  tale  I  will  not  unfold  !    Ye  children 
of  wealth  and  idleness,  what  a  profitable  commerce 
might  be   made    between   us.     A   little   of  my  toil 
might  better  brace  your  bodies,  give  spring  to  mind  and 
zest  to  enjoyment ;  and  a  very  little  of  that  wealth, 
which  you  scatter  around  you,  would  put  it  beyond 
the  power  of  anything  but  death  to  oppose  n\y  kindred 
greetings  with  all  on  earth,  that  bear  the  stamp  of 
man.     This  is  the  third  time,  that  I  have  been  over- 
taken and  arrested  by  winter ;  and  both  the  others,  by 
giving  time  for  my  evil  genius  to  rally  his  hosts  about 
me,  have  defeated  the  enterprise.     Fortune,  thou  hast 
humbled  me  at  last,  for  I  am  this  moment  the  slave  of 
cowardly  solicitude,  lest  in  the  heart  of  this  dre<id 
winter,  there  hnk  the  seeds  of  disappointment  to  my 
ardent  desire  of  gaiuuig  the  opposite  conthieat.     But 
I  submit." 


{..• 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


229 


These  melancholy  forebodings  were  but  too  literally 
verified,  as  the  issucV  will  prove.  In  a  letter  to 
Colonel  Smith  from  Yakutsk,  he  speaks  again  of  this 
disappointment  in  the  following  manner. 

*'  The  Coinmandanl  assured  me,  that  he  had  orders 
from  the  Governor  General  to  render  me  all  possible 
kindness  and  service ;  *  But,  Sir,'  continued  he,  *  the 
first  service  I  am  bound  to  iender  you  is,  to  beseech 
you  not  to  attempt  to  reach  Okotsk  this  winter.'  He 
spoke  to  me  in  French.  I  almost  rudely  insisted  on 
being  permitted  to  depart  immediately,  and  expressed 
surprise  that  a  Yakuti  Indian,  and  a  Tartar  horse, 
should  be  thought  incapable  of  following  a  man,  born 
and  educated  in  the  latitude  of  forty.  He  declared 
upon  his  honor,  that  the  journey  was  impracticable. 
The  contest  lasted  two  or  three  days,  in  which  inter- 
val, being  still  fixed  in  my  opinion,  I  was  preparing 
for  the  journey.  The  Commandant  at  length  waited 
on  me,  and  brought  with  him  a  trader,  a  very  good, 
respectable  looking  man  of  about  fifty,  as  a  witness  to 
the  truth  and  propriety  of  his  advice  to  me.  This 
trader,  for  ten  or  twelve  years,  had  passed  and  repassed 
often  from  Yakutsk  to  Okotsk.  I  was  obliged,  how- 
ever severely  I  might  lament  the  misfortune,  to  yield  to 
two  such  advocates  for  my  happiness.  The  trader 
held  out  to  me  all  the  horrors  of  the  winter,  and  the 
severity  of  the  journey  at  the  best  season  ;  and  the 
Commandant,  the  goodness  of  his  house  and  the  soci- 
ety here,  all  of  which  would  be  at  my  service.  The 
difficulty  of  the  journey  I  was  aware  of ;  but  when  1 
assented  to  its  impracticability y  it  was  a  compliment ; 
for  1  do  not  believe  it  is  so,  nor  hardly  anything  else. 


li    '; 


230 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


<*  It  is  certainly  bad  in  theory  to  suppose  the  seasons 
can  triumph  over  the  efforts  of  an  honest  man.  The 
proffered  hospitality  of  the  Commandant  I  have  no 
doubt  was  sincere,  because  in  Russia  generally,  and 
particularly  in  Siberia,  it  is  the  fashion  to  be  hospita- 
ble. It  is  probable,  also,  that  it  is  a  natural  principle. 
I  should,  however,  have  said  less  to  them  about  the 
matter,  had  I  not  been  without  clothes,  and  with  only 
a  guinea  and  one  fourth  in  my  purse  ;  and  in  a  place 
where  the  necessaries  of  life  are  dearer  than  in  Eu- 
rope, and  clothing  still  dearer  by  the  same  comparison. 
And,  besides,  the  people  of  all  descriptions  here,  as  far 
as  they  are  able,  live  in  all  the  excess  of  Asiatic  luxu- 
ry, joined  with  such  European  excesses,  as  have 
migrated  hither.  Add  to  all  these,  that  they  are  uni- 
versally and  extremely  ignorant,  and  adverse  to  every 
species  of  intellectual  enjoyment,  and  I  will  declare  to 
you,  that  I  was  never  before  so  totally  at  a  loss  how  to 
accommodate  myself  to  my  situation.  The  only  con- 
solation I  have,  of  the  argumentative  kind,  is  to  reflect, 
that  he  who  travels  for  information  must  be  supposed 
to  want  it.  By  being  here  eight  months,  I  shall  be 
able  to  make  my  observations  much  more  extensive, 
respecting  the  country  and  its  inhabitants,  than  if  I 
had  passed  directly  through  it ;  and  this  also  is  a 
satisfaction." 

It  being  thus  determined,  against  his  opinion  and 
wishes,  that  he  should  not  proceed,  he  resolved  to 
reconcile  himself  to  his  fate,  and  to  make  the  best  use 
of  his  time,  which  circumstances  would  allow.  He 
had  entered  the  following  memorandum  in  his  journal, 
while  coming  down  the  Lena.     '^  Yakutsk  is  the  last 


// 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


231 


place  where  I  shall  be  able  to  make  any  inquiries, 
therefore  let  them  be  extensive."  He  now  set  him- 
self earnestly  to  the  task  of  complying  with  this  in- 
junction, and  of  collecting  as  much  information  as 
possible.  The  facts  and  reflections,  which  he  thought 
worth  preserving,  are  recorded  in  his  diary  without 
method  or  connexion.  Jt  was  his  manner,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  to  write  down  only  hints,  to  state  facts 
briefly,  and  throw  out  his  own  remarks  upon  them  in 
language  concise  and  unstudied.  These  particulars, 
as  heretofore,  must  be  remembered  in  reading  the  free 
extracts,  which  will  be  made  from  the  part  of  his 
journal  written  at  Yakutsk. 

There  is  some  room  for  doubt,  whether  the  Com- 
mandant was  perfectly  honest,  in  advising  and  per- 
suading Ledyard  to  desist  from  his  purpose  of  pro- 
ceeding immediately  to  Okotsk.  In  the  first  place,  it 
was  certainly  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  perform  that 
journey  in  the  winter,  and  the  Commandant's  tender 
concern  for  the  sufferings  of  the  traveller,  who  knew 
what  was  before  him,  and  was  eager  to  grapple  with 
every  hardship  in  the  way,  could  scarcely  be  such  as  to 
induce  him,  from  this  motive  alone,  to  urge  his  delay 
for  eight  months  in  Yakutsk.  His  bringing  in  the 
trader  to  atrengthen  his  argument,  on  the  same  benev- 
olent grounds,  is  moreover  a  suspicious  circumstance. 
Ledyard  yielded  to  their  persuasions,  against  his  will 
and  his  judgment,  and  was  only  surprised  that  he 
should  meet  two  i  len  in  Siberia,  entire  strangers  to 
him,  who  should  have  his  happiness  so  much  at  heart. 

Again,  the  original  letter  of  recommendation  from 
Jacobi,  the  Governor  General  of  Irkutsk,  to  the  Com- 


I' S 


m 
■^ 


i 


"'  ■4 


M'      £ 


Ji 


I 


m 


■u 


11 


232 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


mandant  of  Yakutsk,  has  been  preserved  amongst 
Ledyard's  papers.  It  is  written  in  the  Russian  lan- 
guage and  character.*  After  recommending  the  bearer 
in  general  terms,  and  stating  that  he  wished  to  pass 
through  to  the  American  continent,  with  a  view  of 
acquiring  a  knowledge  of  that  country,  Jacobi  adds  ; 
"  His  object  seems  to  be,  that  of  joining  a  certain 
secret  naval  expedition ;  I  earnestly  request  you, 
therefore,  to  receive  Mr  Ledyard  most  kindly,  and  to 
assist  him  every  possible  way  in  all  his  wishes,  and  to 
forward  him  without  the  least  delay  to  the  above  men- 
tioned expedition."  The  passage  in  this  letter  de- 
manding particular  attention,  is  that  in  which  the 
Governor  General  enjoins  it  on  the  Commandant,  with 
marked  emphasis,  to  treat  him  kindly,  and  send  him 
forward  according  to  his  wishes  without  delay.  Now 
if  he  had  given  this  order  seriously,  it  would  not  have 
been  done,  unless  it  was  intended  to  be  obeyed,  and 
Jacobi  knew  very  well  whether  the  journey  was  prac- 
ticable at  the  season,  when  the  letter  would  arrive  ; 
and  if  it  was  in  fact  a  serious  and  positive  order,  it  is 
not  likely  that  the  Commandant  would  have  hesitated 
to  carry  it  instantly  into  effect.  My  inference  is,  that 
there  were  secret  instructions  sent  at  the  same  time 
to  detain  Ledyard  in  Yakutsk,  and  that  the  Comman- 
dant for  this  purpose  resorted  to  the  artifice  of  a  pre- 
tended concern  for  his  health  and  comfort,  that  all 
suspicions  of  any  designed  interference  might  be  lulled 


*  A  translation  of  this  letter  was  proriirod  from  the  Russian  Lega- 
tion, through  tho  politeness  of  Mr  Poleticu,  while  he  was  minister  from 
the  court  of  Petersburg  to  the  United  Statet*. 


u 


LIFE'OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


233 


to  sleep.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that  the  letter  of- 
recommendation  was  sent  open,  and  was  returned  to 
Ledyard  after  having  been  read  by  the  Commandant. 
This  manoeuvre  was  artfully  contrived  to  quiet  his  ap- 
prehensions, and  cause  him  to  believe,  that  the  Gov- 
ernor General  had  taken  a  lively  interest  in  his  suc- 
cess, and  was  disposed  to  render  him  efficient  aid.  To 
this  subject  I  shall  have  occasion  to  recur. 

Meantime  let  us  return  to  the  occupations  of  the 
traveller,  while  he  was  thus  unconsciously  a  prisoner 
at  Yakutsk.  He  pursued  with  diligence  his  inquiries, 
and  lost  no  opportunity  of  seeking  knowledge  wher- 
ever he  could  find  it,  particularly  on  those  topics, 
which  he  was  fond  of  contemplating.  In  the  letter 
to  Colonel  Smith,  mentioned  above,  are  contained 
some  observations,  besides  those  already  quoted,  which 
are  in  harmony  with  the  writer^s  usual  turn  of  mind, 
and  mode  of  expressing  his  thoughts.  i 

"  I  cannot  say,  that  my  voyage  on  the  Lena  has 
furnished  me  with  anything  new,  and  yet  no  traveller 
ever  passed  by  scenes,  that  more  constantly  engage 
the  heart  and  the  imagination.  I  suppose  no  two 
philosophers  would  think  alike  about  them.  A  painter 
and  a  poet  would  be  much  more  likely  to  agree. 
There  aA  some  things,  however,  not  unworthy  of  a 
philosophical  inquiry.  The  Lena  is  very  indifferent 
for  navigation,  from  this  place  towards  Irkutsk.  In 
some  mountains  near  the  river  are  large  salt  mines, 
which  afford  a  supply  to  all  the  adjacent  country.  It 
is  pure,  solid,  transparent,  mineral  salt,  and  found  in 
veins.  The  pieces  that  I  have  seen,  with  the  Com- 
mandant here,  are  six  and  nine  inches  square.  When 
30 


4ii    .! 


m 


'■'M'^ 


M^  -       1 


234 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


pulverized  for  the  table,  it  is  much  the  most  delicate 
salt  I  ever  saw,  of  a  perfect  white,  and  an  agreeable 
taste,  but  I  imagine  not  so  strong  by  onf;  third,  as  our 
West  India  salt.  There  are  also  upoa  the  banks  of 
the  Lena,  and  indeed  all  over  this  country,  great 
quantities  of  elephants'  bones.  The  Commandant 
possesses  some  of  the  teeth  of  that  animal,  larger  than 
any  I  saw  in  the  royal  museum  at  Petersburg,  and 
they  are  as  sound  as  they  ever  were.  The  hafts  of 
knives,  spoons,  and  a  variety  of  other  things  are  here 
made  of  them^  and  they  equal  any  ivory  I  have  seen 
from  Africa.  If  I  can,  I  will  send  you  a  specimen  of 
this  fine  bone,  and  of  the  salt  likewise.  Indeed,  I 
want  to  send  you  many  things,  but  it  is  an  embarrass- 
ing circumstance,  when  one  has  correspondents  in  the 
antipodes.  And  though  no  nan  could  show  more 
kindness,  or  render  more  sevvice  to  a  traveller,  than 
Dr  Pallas  has  done  to  me,  yet  I  am  reserved  in  asking 
them  upon  all  occasions.  Brown  and  Porter,  too  ; — I 
wonder  their  patience  is  not  exhausted.  It  has  been 
as  thoroughly  tried,  as  yours  was  while  I  was  at  Pe- 
tersburg. 

"  The  fact  is,  I  am  a  bankrupt  to  the  world,  but  I 
hope  it  will  consider  well  the  occasion  of  my  being 
such.  I  believe  it  will.  My  English  creditors  are 
the  most  numerous,  and  I  have  great  consolation  on 
that  account,  because  they  think  and  act  with  such 
heavenly  propriety.  In  most  parts  of  the  world,  and 
as  much  in  Russia  as  anywhere,  and  in  Siberia  most 
of  all,  it  is  the  custom  not  to  think  at  all.  In  this 
case  it  is  difficult  to  liquidate,  rationally,  a  receipt  and 
expenditure  of  three  dinners  and   a  bow.     For  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


235 


same  reason,  when  I  left  France  my  accounts  were 
not  closed,  and  from  that  day  to  this  I  know  not 
whether  I  owe  France,  or  France  owes  me.  But  here 
at  Yakutsk  it  will  be  infinitely  worse,  and  without 
any  violence  to  the  metaphor,  or  pedantic  affectation, 
I  declare  to  you,  that,  to  leave  Yakutsk  with  respecta- 
bility and  reach  Okotsk  alive,  will  be  to  pass  a  Scylla 
and  Charybdis,  which  ^  Hive  never  yet  encountered. 
Both  you,  myself,  anu  my  friends,  had  formed  at 
London  very  erroneous  opinions  of  the  equipment 
necessary  to  pass  through  this  country,  and  particu- 
larly as  to  the  manner  of  travelling.  It  has  been  the 
source  of  all  my  troubles.  They  have  been  many, 
and  I  have  done  wrong  to  feel  them  so  severely.  I 
owe  the  world  some  services,  which  I  shall  make 
great  efforts  to  perform.  Make  my  best  compliments 
to  my  friends,  and  tell  them  that  I  have  a  heart  as  big 
as  St  Paul's  Church  in  such  service  as  theirs."  i 

The  mistake  here  alluded  to,  in  regard  to  the  diode 
of  travelling,  was  the  plan  formed  by  himself  and  his 
friends  in  London,  that  he  should  walk,  as  being  more 
economical.  By  experiment  he  proved  this  to  have 
been  an  ill  advised  scheme,  for  walking  not  only  con- 
sumed a  great  deal  more  time,  but  the  expenses  in  the 
aggregate  were  higher,  than  by  the  usual  mode  of 
travelling  post  through  those  countries.  In  a  letter 
from  Irkutsk  he  says,  ^'  It  has  been  to  this  moment  a 
source  of  misfortune  to  me,  that  I  did  not  begin  to 
ride  post  from  Hamburg.  I  have  footed  it  at  a  great 
expense,  besides  the  loss  of  my  baggage,  which  I 
severely  feel.  Never  did  I  adopt  an  idea  so  fatal  to 
my  happiness."    The    reason  why  he   viewed  this 


i:k6; 


m  if 


W^' .  '.r 


'^  "^  >' 


^■, 


9SQ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


oversight  in  so  serious  an  aspect  was,  that  it  would 
inevitably  be  the  cause  of  keeping  him  back,  a  full 
season,  from  his  passage  across  the  sea  to  the  Ameri- 
can continent,  and  thus  in  the  end  a  whole  year 
would  be  lost.  \dd  to  this  the  innumerable  accidents, 
that  might  intervene  to  defeat  his  purpose  altogether. 
Whereas,  had  he  proceeded  by  the  shortest  conveyance 
from  Hamburg  to  the  Russian  capital,  he  might  with 
great  ease  have  reached  Kamtschatka  the  same  sea- 
son. The  origin  of  his  disasters  may  chiefly  be  re- 
ferred, however,  to  his  fit  of  romantic  benevolence  in 
seeking  out  Major  Langborn;  wasting  his  precious 
time  in  Copenhagen,  and  sharing  with  his  erratic 
countryman  his  scanty  means,  which,  in  their  whole 
amount,  were  scarcely  enough  to  keep  himself  alone 
from  b'ggary. 

I  shall  now  bring  together,  in  as  connected  a  form 
as  the  nature  of  the  particulars  will  admit,  Ledyard's 
observations  on  various  tribes  of  Tartars,  with  whom 
he  became  more  or  less  acquainted  in  Siberia.  His 
researches  were  desultory,  but  pursued  with  inquisi- 
tiveness ;  his  statements  are  often  curious,  sometimes 
important ;  they  will  afford  amusement  to  the  general 
reader,  as  well  as  information  to  the  philosophical 
inquirer. 

"  Of  all  the  gradations  of  men,  the  savage  is  the 
most  formal  and  ceremonious,  notwithstanding  his 
wants  and  occupations  are  few,  and  he  can  with  happy 
iadifierence  endure  privation.  His  heaven  is  peace 
and  leisure.  Ceremonials,  like  the  uninterrupted 
t€nor  of  his  mind,  may  be  supposed  to  be  transmitted 
unchanged  through  many  generations.     Hence  many 


(/  • 


LIFE  or  JOHN  L^DYARD. 


237 


things,  which  marked  the  earliest  period  of  history, 
and  which  have  left  no  vestige  with  civilized  man, 
show  themselves  at  this  day  among  savages.  Their 
luxuries,  if  such  they  may  be  called,  are  of  that  kind 
which  nature  suggests.  Dress,  which  in  hot  climates 
is  an  inconvenience,  does  not  become  so  much  the  ob- 
ject of  attention  and  delight ;  and  here,  therefore,  the 
savage  is  more  nice  in  the  indulgence  of  his  appetites. 
On  the  contrary,  in  cold  climates,  bodily  covering 
being  all  important,  ingenuity  is  directed  to  that  point. 
A  feeble  kind  of  infant  fancy  grows  out  of  the  efforts 
of  necessity,  and  displays  its  little  arts  in  adorning 
the  person  with  awkward  and  fantastic  decorations. 
But  here  the  appetites  are  less  lively  and  distinguish- 
ing. With  respect  to  food,  the  vilest,  and  that  totally 
unprepared,  does  not  come  amiss,  and  the  most  deli- 
cate is  not  seized  with  eagerness.  Give  a  cake  to  a 
Swedish  Laplander,  Finlander,  or  northern  Tartar, 
and  he  eats  it  leisurely  ;  do  the  same  to  an  Otaheitan, 
Italian  peasant,  or  Spanish  fisherman,  and  he  will  put 
the  whole  cake  into  his  mouth  if  he  can.  The  Em- 
press has  caused  houses  to  be  built  in  the  Russian 
manner,  at  the  expense  of  government,  and  ordered 
them  to  be  offered  to  the  Yakuti,  upon  the  single  con- 
dition of  their  dwelling  in  them ;  but  they  have  univer- 
sally refused,  preferring  their  apparently  more  uncom- 
fortable Yourtes  OT  Wigwams,  , 

"  The  Tongusians  are  a  wandering  people,  living 
solely  by  the  chase.  They  rarely  stop  above  two  or 
three  days  in  a  place.  They  have  tents  or  yoyrtes, 
made  of  bark,  which  they  leave  on  the  spot  where 
they  have  encamped.    When  they  march  they  tell 


If  ir(« 


Am- 


238 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


their  women  that  they  are  going  to  such  a  mountain, 
river,  lake,  or  forest,  and  leave  them  to  bring  the  bag- 
gage. They  are  extremely  active  in  the  chase,  and 
instances  have  occurred  in  which  they  were  found 
dead,  having  pursued  their  game  down  some  precipice. 

"  The  Kalmuks,  or  Buretti,  write  their  language  in 
columns,  like  the  Chinese ;  the  Kazan  Tartars  from 
right  to  left,  like  the  Hebrews.*  The  reason  why  the 
Buretti  have  the  art  of  writing  is,  that  they  last  mi- 
grated from  the  borders  of  Thibet.  There  is  not 
another  Asiatic  tribe  in  all  Siberia,  that  write  their 
language,  or  have  any  remains  of  writing  among 
them.f  The  sound  of  the  Yakuti  language  very 
closely  resembles  that  of  the  Chinese  ;  and  the  same, 
indeed,  may  be  said  of  the  languages  of  all  the  Asiatic 
^artars.  I  have  already  observed,  that  the  Yakuti  is 
'supposed  to  be  the  oldest  language,  and  that  other 
tribes  have  some  knowledge  of  it. 

"  The  Kalmuks  live  mostly  by  their  flocks,  which 
consist  of  horses,  sheep,  goats,  and  cows.  In  summer 
they  dwell   in  the  plains,  in  winter  retreat   to  the 


*  Dr  Clarke  mentions  having  procured  at  Taganrog,  on  the  sea  of 
Azof,  a  specimen  of  writing  from  the  Kalmuk  priests.  The  characters 
were  arranged  in  columns  on  scarlet  linen,  and  read  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom.  After  returning  to  England  ho  was  informed,  that  this 
writing  was  Sanscrit.  He  adds,  that  the  Kalmuks  in  that  part  of 
Asia  had  two  modes  of  writing,  one  with  the  vulgar  character,  so 
called,  and  the  other  with  the  sacred.  This  latter  is  read  from  left  to 
right,  like  the  European  languages ;  the  former  in  columns,  and  would 
seem  to  be  Sanscrit.    Clarke's  Travels,  Vol.  I.  c.  15. 

t  It  must  be  observed,  that  Ledyard  everywhere  speaks  of  the 
Burette  as  the  same  people  with  the  Kalmuks,  and  both  as  direct 
descendants  of  the  Mongul  Tartars.  What  he  says  of  either,  there- 
fore, may  commonly  be  applied  to  the  other. 


// 


LIFE  OF   JOHN    LEDYARD. 


239 


mountains,  where  their  flocks  feed  on  buds,  twigs  of 
trees,  and  moss.  They  have  much  milk,  which  serves 
them  for  food,  and  of  which  they  also  make  a  kind  of 
brandy.*  They  likewise  hunt.  When  any  of  their 
flock  are  sick,  or  lame,  they  kill  and  eat  them.      *^^  ' 

"  I  observe  there  is  one  continual  flow  of  good  na- 
ture and  cheerfulness  among  the  Tartars.  They 
never  abuse  each  other  by  words,  but,  when  provoked, 
look  for  revenge,  either  secret  or  open.  The  Tongu- 
sians  fight  duels  with  their  bows,  and  with  knives. 
They,  and  the  other  toving  Tartars,  have  the  limits 
of  their  hunting  grounds  ascertained  and  marked,  like 
the  aborigines  of  North  America. 

"  The  Yakuti  here  take  their  children  out  in  the 
evening,  and  teach  them  the  names  of  the  principal 
stars,  how  to  direct  their  march  by  them,  and  how  to 
judge  of  the  weather.  Astronomy  must  have  been 
an  early  science.  The  Russ  and  Yakuti  appear  to  live 
together  here  in  harmony  and  peace,  without  any  dis- 
tinction as  to  national  difference,  or  superiority  and  in- 
feriority. I  know  of  but  one  circumstance,  (but,  alas ! 
it  is  an  important  one,)  in  which  the  Yakuti  are  not 
on  an  equal  footing  with  the  Russ.  They  hold  no 
offices,  civil  or  military.  The  Russians  have  been 
here  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and   the  Yakuti 


*  The  manner  of  extracting  this  spirituous  liquor  from  milk  is  large- 
ly described  by  Pallas.  The  milk  is  first  fermented,  in  which  state  it 
contains  a  vinous  acid.  It  is  then  subjected  to  the  usual  process  of 
distillation,  and  the  result  is  a  species  of  liquor,  which  has  intoxicating 
qualities,  and  of  which  the  Kalrauks  are  very  fond.  Mare's  milk  is 
considered  the  best  for  this  purpose,  and  cow's  milk  the  next.  The 
milk  of  sheep  is  seldom  distilled,  aa  it  contains  but  a  small  quantity  of 
the  spirituous  principle.  Voyages  du  Profcsseur  Pallas,  Tom.  II.  pp. 
168—175 


'm^ 


240 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Tartars  have  been  under  the  Russian  government  ever 
since,  yet  have  they  made  no  alteration  in  their  dress 
or  manners  in  general ;  but  the  Russians  have  con- 
formed to  the  dress  of  the  Yakuti.  Very  few  of  them 
have  embraced  the  Christian  religion,  and  those, 
who  have,  perform  its  duties  with  great  indifference. 
In  this  respect,  also,  the  Tartar,  whether  in  Asia 
or  America,  acts  up  to  that  sui  generis  character, 
which  distinguishes  him  from  other  branches  of  the 
human  family.  Religion  of  any  kind,  professed  by  any 
other  people,  is  usually  a  serious,  contemplative,  and 
important  concern,  and  forms  at  least  as  remarkable  a 
trait  in  their  character,  as  any  circumstance  of  fashion 
or  habit ;  but  it  forms  no  part  of  the  character  of  a 
Tartar.  I  have  not  in  my  mind  the  Christian  system 
particularly ;  its  doctrines  are  indeed  mysterious  to 
the  greatest  minds  and  best  hearts.  To  a  Tartar  they 
must  surely  be  so.  The  surprise  is  therefore  the  less, 
why  they  should  so  feebly  affect  the  Tartar  character. 
But  the  Mahometan  system,  which  courts  the  senses, 
and  appeals  to  the  passions,  has  operated  no  farther  on 
the  Tartar,  than  to  shave  his  head.  There  it  stops ;  it 
does  not  enter  it,  nor  his  heart. 

**  The  Tartar  is  a  man  of  nature,  not  of  art.  His 
philosophy  is  therefore  very  simple,  but  sometimes 
sublime.  Let  us  enumerate  some  ol  his  virtues.  He 
is  a  lover  of  peace.  No  lawyer  here,  perplexing 
natural  rights  of  property.  No  wanton  Helen,  dis- 
playing fatal  charms.  No  priest  with  his  outrageous 
zeal  has  ever  disturbed  the  peace.  Never,  I  believe, 
did  a  Tartar  speak  ill  of  the  Deity,  or  envy  his  fellow 
creatures.    He  is  contented  to  be  what  he  is.   Hospit- 


/./ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


241 


able  and  humane,  he  is  uniformly  tranquil  and  cheer- 
ful, laconic  in  thought,  word,  and  action.  This  is  one 
great  reason,  and  I  think  the  greatest,  why  they  have 
been  constantly  persecuted  by  nations  of  a  different 
disposition,  and  why  they  have  always  fled  before 
them,  and  been  content  to  live  anywhere,  if  they 
could  only  live  in  peace.  Some  have  attributed  this 
conduct  to  a  lov^  of  liberty.  True ;  but  their  ideas, 
both  of  peace  and  liberty,  are  different  from  ours. 
The  Tartar  Isolds  in  eoiial  cstimatiotk  his  dear  otium, 
and  his  Ubertas.  They  talk  mucii  of  liberty  in  Eng- 
land, for  example,  but  I  think  it  «vould  be  less  agree- 
able for  a  Tartar  to  live  there,  than  in  ^lussian  Siberia, 
where  there  is  less  liberty.  The  Tartars,  indeed, 
think  differently  from  most  p  oi^le  of  Euro;  o,  and,  I 
believe,  of  Africa.  If  the  V'rgiiiia  planters  were  to 
give  their  Negroes  more  commodious  houses  to  inhalili  > 
instead  of  their  poor  huts,  and  encourage  them  other- 
wise to  live  in  them,  I  believe  the  African  would  be  of 
the  same  mind  as  the  planter,  and  gladly  accept  the 
proposal.  The  same  thing  exactly  has  been  offered 
here  to  the  Yakuti  by  the  crown ;  they  have  much 
stronger  inducements  to  accept  the  offer  than  the 
African  ;  but  they  h  iv(^  not,  and  they  will  not,  though 
no  condition  accompanies  the  offer.  They  will  in- 
habit the  yourtp. 

"  The  yowte,  or,  as  the  American  Tartars  call  it 
pretty  generally,  wigwam,  is  in  this  country  a  substi- 
tute for  a  tent.  In  milder  climates  it  is  made  either 
of  skins  or  bark  of  trees,  of  sedge  or  some  other  kind 
of  grass.  It  is  always  of  a  conical  form,  not  divided 
into  apartments,  having  an  aperture  at  the  top,  and 
31 


I'JSf^. 


t 


242 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


the  fire  made  on  the  ground  under  it.  Around  the 
sides  of  the  yourte,  if  it  is  only  temporary,  are  placed 
the  baggage  and  furniture ;  if  it  is  not  temporary, 
seats  for  sitting  and  sleeping  upon  are  ranged  around 
the  sides.  The.yourtes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rus- 
sian towns  and  settlements  are  made  a  little  differentr 
ly ;  they  are  sunk  two  or  three  feet  in  the  ground, 
square,  and  divided  into  apartments,  the  frame  of 
wood,  the  sides  plastered  with  mud,  and  a  flat  roof 
covered  with  earth.  The  fire  is  in  the  centre,  with  a 
slight  little  chimney.  They  have  two  or  three  little 
windows  ;  in  summer,  of  talc ;  in  winter,  of  ice.  One 
apartment  of  the  yourte  is  for  the  cow,  ox,  or  horse, 
if  the  owner  should  possess  any.  These  yourtes  re- 
semble not  a  tent ;  but  remote  from  towns  all  the  Tar- 
tars have  tents  either  of  skins,  bark,  or  grass. 

"  The  people  in  this  country,  that  are  born  half 
Russ  and  half  Tartar,  are  very  different  from  the  Tar- 
tars or  Russ,  and  much  superior  to  either  of  them. 
The  European  nations,  that  intermarry  most  with 
other  nations,  are  the  handsomest.  How  far  may  this 
cause  be  supposed  to  have  made  the  Negro,  and  the 
Tartar,  so  different  from  the  European ;  or,  which  is 
more  probable,  have  made  the  European  so  different 
from  the  Tartar  and  Negro?  The  Commandant 
showed  me  recently  a  man  descended  from  a  Yakuti 
father  and  Russian  mother,  and  the  son  of  this  man. 
The  color  of  the  first  descendant  is  as  fair  as  the 
second,  and  both  as  fair  as  the  Russian  mother  and 
grandmother.  After  the  first  descent,  intermarriage 
has  a  less  perceptible  effect  on  the  color.  This 
change  of  the  color  by  intermarriage  is  generally  from 


u 


LIFE  OP  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


243 


the  darker  to  the  lighter.  The  color  of  the  hair  and 
eyes  also  inclines  to  be  light,  but  does  not  always  ac- 
company the  change  of  color  in  the  skin.  Upon  the 
whole,  as  I  have  said  before,  with  respect  to  difference 
of  color  with  the  Indian  and  European,  they  appear  to 
me  to  be  the  effect  of  natural  causes.  I  have  given 
much  attention  to  the  subject  on  this  continent.  Its 
vast  extent,  and  the  variety  of  its  inhabitants,  afford 
the  best  field  in  the  world  in  which  to  examine  it. 
By  the  same  gentle  gradation,  by  which  I  passed 
from  the  height  of  civilization  at  Petersburg  to  incivi- 
lization  in  Siberia,  I  also  passed  from  the  fair  Euro- 
pean to  the  copper  colored  Tartar ;  I  say  the  copper 
colored  Tartar,  but  there  is  the  same  variety  of  color 
among  the  Tartars  in  Siberia,  as  among  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth.  The  journal  of  a  Russian  offi- 
cer, which  I  have  seen,  informs  me  that  the  Samoi- 
edes,  among  whom  he  lived  two  years,  are  fairer  than 
the  Yakuti,  who  are  of  a  light  olive,  and  fairer  than 
the  Tongusians,  or  the  Buretti,  who  are  copper  color- 
ed. Yet  the  three  last  mentioned  tribes  are  all  Mon- 
gul  Tartars.  The  greater  part  of  mankind,  compared 
with  European  civilization,  are  uncivilized,  and  this 
part  are  all  darker  than  the  other.  There  are  no 
whitQ  savages,  and  few  barbarous  people,  that  are  not 
brown  or  black. 

"The  equally  distinguishing  characteristic  o( fea- 
turcy  in  the  Tartar  face,  invites  me  into  a  field  of  obser- 
vation, which  I  am  not  able  at  present  to  give  bounds  to. 
I  must  therefore  resign  it  to  those,  who  have  leisure 
and  a  taste  for  such  inquiries,  contenting  myself  with 
furnishing  a  few  facts,  and  describing  this  strange  dis- 


p'f 


244 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


similarity  in  the  human  face,  according  to  the  observa- 
tions I  have  made.  This  I  should  be.  able  to  do  ana- 
tomically,  but  I  am  not.  The  Tartar  face,  in  the  first 
impression  it  gives,  approaches  nearer  to  the  African 
than  the  European  ;  and  this  impression  is  strengthen- 
ed, on  a  more  deliberate  examination  of  the  individual 
features,  and  Vi^hole  compages  of  the  countenance ; 
yet  it  is  very  different  from  an  African  face.  The 
nose  forms  a  strong  feature  in  thp  human  face.  I  have 
seen  instances  among  the  Kalmuks,  where  the  nose 
between  the  «yes  has  been  much  flatter  and  broader, 
than  I  have  ever  witnessed  in  Negroes;  and  some 
few  instances  where  it  has  been  as  broad  over  the  nos- 
trils quite  to  the  end ;  but  the  nostrils  in  any  case  are 
much  smaller  than  in  Negroes.  Where  I  have  seen 
those  noses,  they  were  accompanied  with  a  large 
mouth  and  thick  lips ;  and  these  people  were  genuine 
Kalmuk  Tartars.  The  nose  protuberates  but  little 
from  the  face,  and  is  shorter  than  that  of  the  Euro- 
pean. The  eyes  universally  are  at  a  great  distance 
from  each  other,  and  very  small ;  at  each  corner  of  the 
eye  the  skin  projects  over  the  ball ;  the  part  appears 
swelled  ;  the  eyelids  go  in  nearly  a  strait  line  from 
corner  to  corner.  When  open,  the  eye  appears  as  in 
a  square  frame.  The  mouth  generally,  however,  is 
of  a  middling  size,  and  the  lips  thin.  Thi;  next  re- 
markable features  are  the  cheek  bones.  These,  like 
the  eyes,  are  very  remote  from  each  other,  high,  broad, 
and  withal  project  a  little  forward.  The  face  is  flat. 
When  I  look  at  a  Tartar  en  profile^  I  can  hardly  see 
the  nose  between  the  eyes,  and  if  he  blow  a  coal  of 
fire,  I  cannot  see  the  nose  at  all.    The  face  is  then 


ti 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


245 


like  an  inflated  bladder.  The  forehead  is  narrow  and 
Ic  >/.  The  face  has  a  fresh  color,  and  on  the  cheek 
bones  there  is  commonly  a  good  ruddy  hue. 

"  The  faces  of  Tartars  have  not  a  variety  of  ex- 
pression. 1  think  the  predominating  one  is  pride; 
but  whenever  I  have  viewed  them,  they  have  seen  a 
stranger.  The  intermixture  by  marriage  does  not 
operate  so  powerfully  in  producing  a  change  of  fea- 
tures, as  of  complexion,  in  favor  of  Europeans,  I 
have  seen  the  third  in  descent,  and  the  Tartar  prevailed 
over  the  European  features.  The  Tartars  from  time 
immemorial  (I  mean  the  Asiatic  Tartars)  have  been 
a  people  of  a  wandering  disposition.  Their  converse 
has  been  more  among  beasts  of  the  forest,  than  among 
men ;  and  when  among  men,  it  has  only  been  those 
of  their  own  nation.  They  have  ever  been  savages, 
averse  to  civilization,  and  have  never  until  very  lately 
mingled  with  other  nations,  and  now  rarely.  What- 
ever cause  may  have  originated  their  peculiarities  of 
features,  the  reason  why  they  still  continue  is  their 
secluded  way  of  life,  which  has  preserved  them  from 
mixing  with  other  people.  I  am  ignorant,  how  far  a 
constant  society  with  beasts  may  operate  in  changing 
the  features,  but  I  am  persuaded  that  this  circum- 
stance, together  with  an  uncultivated  state  of  mind, 
if  we  consider  a  long  and  uninterrupted  succession  of 
ages,  must  account  in  some  degree  for  this  remarkable 
singularity.  #  - 

"  Mr  John  Hunter  of  London  has  made,  or  is  mak- 
ing, some  anatomical  examinations  of  the  head  of  a 
Negro,  which  is  said  externally  at  least  to  resemble 
that  of  a  monkey.     If  I  could  do  it,  I  would  send 


i  i 


W^ 


246 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


him  the  head  of  a  Tartar,  who  lives  by  the  chase,  and 
is  constantly  in  the  society  of  animals,  which  have 
high  cheek  bones  ;  and  perhaps,  on  examining  such  a 
head,  he  would  find  an  anatomical  resemblance  to  the 
fox,  the  wolf,  the  bear,  or  the  dog.  I  have  thought, 
that  even  in  Europe  mechanical  employments,  having 
been  continued  for  a  long  time  among  the  same  peo- 
ple, have  had  a  considerable  influence  in  giving  a  uni- 
form character  to  their  features.  I  know  of  no  people, 
among  whom  there  is  such  a  uniformity  of  features, 
(except  the  Chinese,  the  Jews,  and  the  Negroes)  as 
among  the  Asiatic  Tartars.  They  are  distinguished, 
indeed,  by  different  tribes,  but  this  is  only  nominal. 
Nature  has  not  acknowledged  the  distinction,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  marked  them,  wherever  found,  with  the 
indisputable  stamp  of  Tartars.  Whether  in  Nova 
Zembla,  Mongolia,  Greenland,  or  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  they  are  the  same  people,  forming  the 
most  numerous,  and,  if  we  must  except  the  Chinese, 
the  most  ancient  nation  of  the  globe.  But  I,  for 
myself,  do  not  except  the  Chinese,  because  I  have  no 
doubt  of  their  being  of  the  same  family. 

"  The  Tongusians,  the  Tchuktchi,  the  Kuriles,  and 
the  Nova  Zembleans  are  tattooed.  The  Mohegan  tribe 
of  Indians  in  America  practised  tattooing.  I  find  as 
yet  nothing  analagous  to  the  American  calumet,  except 
in  the  use  of  it.  The  Tartars  here,  when  they  smoke 
the  pipe,  give  it  round  to  every  one  in  the  company. 
The  form  of  the  pipe  is  universally  the  identical  form 
of  the  Chinese  pipe.  I  expect  to  find  it  in  America, 
since  the  form  of  the  pipe  on  the  tomahock  resembles 
it.    This  form  intimates  economy,  and  that  the  origi- 


:;5!.  •:,;,; 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


247 


nal  custom  of  smoking  the  pipe  was  a  mere  luxury. 
It  holds  but  a  very  little.  The  manner,  in  which  the 
Tartars  and  Chinese  use  it,  corroborates  that  idea. 
They  make  but  on^  or  two  drafts  from  the  pipe,  and 
those  they  swallow,  or  discharge  through  the  nose, 
and  then  put  the  pipe  by.  They  say  that  the  smoke 
thus  taken  is  exhilarating.  As  the  Chinese  pipe  is 
found  universally  among  the  Siberian  Tartars,  I  think 
it  probable  that  the  custom  of  smoking  migrated  with 
them  to  America,  and  thence  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
made  its  way  east  to  England.  If  so,  the  custom  has 
travelled  in  a  singular  manner.  Why  did  it  not  come 
from  the  Tartars  west  to  England  ?  .        . 

"  The  Asiatic  Tartars  never  change  their  dress  ;  it 
is  the  same  on  all  occasions  ;  in  the  field,  in  the  house, 
on  a  visit,  on  a  hojiday.  They  never  have  but  one 
dress,  and  that  is  as  fine  as  they  can  make  it.  Those 
that  live  with  the  Russians  in  their  villages  are  above 
mediocrity  as  to  riches,  but  discover  the  same  indiffer- 
ence about  accumulating  more,  and  for  the  concerns  of 
tomorrow,  that  a  North  American  Indian  does.  They 
stroll  about  the  village,  and,  if  they  can,  get  drunk, 
smoke  their  pipe,  or  go  to  sleep.  The  gardens  of  the 
Russians  are  cultivated  more  or  less,  but  theirs  lie 
undisturbed.  The  houie  of  the  Russian  is  a  scene  of 
busy  occupation,  filled  with  furniture,  provisions, 
women,  children,  dirt,  and  noise ;  that  of  the  Tartar 
is  as  silent  and  as  clean  as  a  mosque.  If  the  season 
admits,  the  residents  are  all  abroad,  unless  perhaps  an 
old  woman  or  man.  There  is  very  little  furniture, 
and  that  rolled  up  and  bound  in  parcels  in  a  corner  of 
the  house,  and  no  appearance  of  provisions.     If  it 


248 


LIFE  OP  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


happen,  that  they  profess  the  Russian  religion,  they 
treat  it  with  strange  indifference,  not  thinkingly,  but 
because  they  do  not  think  at  all  about  it.  '  * 

"  I  have  not  as  yet  taken  any  vocabularies  of  the 
Tartar  languages.  If  I  take  any,  they  will  be  very 
short  ones.  Nothing  is  more  apt  to  deceive  than  vo- 
cabularies, when  taken  by  an  entire  stranger.  Men 
of  scientific  curiosity  make  use  of  them  in  investigat- 
ing questions  of  philosophy,  as  well  as  history,  and  I 
think  often  with  too  much  confidence,  since  nothing  is 
more  difficult,  than  to  take  a  vocal)ulary,  that  shall 
answer  any  good  ends  for  such  a  purpose.  The  dif- 
ferent sounds  of  the  same  letters,  and  of  the  same 
combinations  of  letters,  in  the  languages  of  Europe, 
present  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  making  a 
vocabulary,  which  shall  be  of  general  use.  The  dif- 
ferent manner,  also,  in  which  persons  of  the  same 
language  would  write  the  words  of  a  new  language, 
would  be  such,  that  a  stranger  might  suppose  them  to 
be  two  languages.  Most  uncultivated  languages  are 
very  difficult  to  be  orthographized  in  another  language. 
They  are  generally  guttural ;  but  when  not  so,  the 
ear  of  a  foreigner  cannot  accommodate  itself  to  the 
inflection  of  the  speaker's  voice,  soon  enough  to  catch 
the  true  sound.  This  must  be  done  instantaneously  ; 
and  even  in  a  language  with  which  we  are  acquainted, 
we  are  not  able  to  do  it  for  several  years.  I  seize, 
for  instance,  the  accidental  moment,  when  a  savage  is 
inclined  to  give  me  the  names  of  things.  The  me- 
dium of  this  conversation  is  only  signs.  The  savage 
may  wish  to  give  me  the  word  for  head,  and  lays  his 
hand  on  the  top  of  his  head.    I   am  not  certain 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


249 


1        ''Hi'  !■     '11 


whether  he  means  the  head,  or  the  top  of  the  head,  or 
perhaps  the  hair  of  the  head.  He  may  wish  to  say 
leg,  and  puts  his  hand  to  the  calf.  I  cannot  tell 
whether  he  means  the  leg,  or  the  calf,  or  flesh,  or  the 
flesh.  There  are  other  difficulties.  The  island  of 
Onalaska  is  on  the  coast  of  America  opposite  to  Asia. 
There  are  a  few  Russian  traders  on  it.  Being  there 
with  Captain  Cook,  I  was  walking  one  day  on  the 
shore  in  company  with  a  native,  who  spoke  the  Rus- 
sian language.  I  did  not  understand  it.  I  was  writ- 
ing the  names  of  several  things,  and  pointed  to  the 
ship,  supposing  he  would  understand  that  I  wanted 
the  name  of  it.  He  answered  me  in  a  phrase,  which 
in  Russ  meant,  /  know.  I  vvrote  down,  a  ship.,  I 
gave  him  some  snufT,  which  he  took,  and  held  out  his 
hand  fo*  more,  making  use  of  a  word,  which  signified 
in  Russ,  a  little.     I  wrote.,  more. 

"  The  Asiatic  Tartars  have  different  methods  of 
hunting  the  moose,  and  such  kind  of  game,  but  the 
most  prevalent  is  like  that  of  American  Indians  by 
stratagem.  So  they  catch  ducks  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Kolyma ;  so  the  Otaheitans  catch  fish  some- 
times ;  and  so  the  uncivilized  parts  of  mankind  war 
against  each  other. 

^*  I  understand  from  Captain  Billings's  Journal,  that 
the  universal  method  among  the  Tchuktchi  Indians, 
in  the  ceremony  of  marriage,  is  for  the  man  to  pur- 
chase the  woman,  or  make  presents  to  her  parents.  It 
is  also  customary  for  the  young  man  to  serve  a  stipu- 
lated time  with  the  parents  of  the  bride.  In  case  of 
disunion  afterwards,  which  happens  without  passion, 
the  presents  that  have  been  made  are  returned.  If 
32 


*.«!' 


260 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


either  party  dies,  the  other  marries  again  as  soon  as 
convenient ;  and  the  sooner  the  better,  they  say,  be- 
cause they  ought  not  to  lament  what  can  be  repaired. 
I  suppose  the  love  in  this  case  below  that,  which  ex-  ' 
isted  in  the  bosoms  of  Eloise  and  Abelard,  and  I  sup- 
pose the  philosophy  as  much  above  theirs,  as  the  love 
is  below.* 

*^  All  the  Asiatic  Tartars,  like  the  aborigines  of 
America,  entertain  the  same  general  notions  of  theo- 
logy, namely,  that  there  is  one  great  and  good  God, 
and  that  he  is  so  good  that  they  have  no  occasion  to 
address  him  for  the  bestowment  of  any  favors  ;  and, 
being  good,  he  will  certainly  do  them  no  injury.  But 
they  suffer  many  calamities ;  so  they  say  there  is 
another  being,  the  source  of  evil ;  and  that  he  must 
be  very  powerful,  because  the  evils  inflicted  on  them 
are  numerous.  To  this  mischievous  deity,  therefore, 
they  sacrifice.  From  him  they  expect  no  favors,  and 
do  not  ask  any,  but  deprecate   his   wrath.     Their 


•  *  The  following  description  from  Dr  Clarke's  Travels,  is  applied  to 
the  Kalrauks  where  he  travelled  on  the  borders  of  Persia,  in  the  coun- 
try of  the  Cossacs.  "  The  ceremony  of  marriage,"  says  he,  "  among 
the  Kalmiiks  is  performed  on  horseback.  A  girl  is  first  mounted,  who 
rides  off  in  full  speed.  Her  lover  pursues ;  if  he  overtakes  her,  she  be- 
comes his  wife,  and  the  marriage  is  consummated  upon  the  spot.  Afler 
this  she  returns  with  him  to  his  tent.  But  it  sometimes  happens,  that 
the  woman  does  not  wish  to  marry  the  person  by  whom  she  is  pursued ; 
in  this  case  she  will  not  suffer  him  to  overtake  her.  We  were  assured, 
that  no  instance  occurs  of  a  Kalmuk  girl  being  thus  caught,  unless  she 
have  a  partiality  for  her  pursuer.  If  she  dislikes  him,  she  rides,  to  use 
the  language  of  English  sportsmen,  neck  or  nothing,  until  she  has  com- 
pletely effected  her  escape,  or  until  the  pursuer's  horse  becomes  ex- 
hausted, leaving  her  at  liberty  to  return,  and  to  be  afterwards  chased 
by  some  more  favored  admirer."    Vol.  I.  c.  15.  -» 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


251 


Shamants,  or  priests,  have  therefore  nothing  to  do 
with  the  goo(i^  God ;  their  business  is  solely  with  the 
other,  whom  they  make  free  to  parcel  out  into  a  great 
variety  of  characters,  assigning  to  each  evil  a  presid- 
ing subordinate  spirit.  This  affords  the  Shamant  an 
opportunity  of  playing  his  tricks  in  an  extraordinary 
manner.  '* 

"  Mr  Pennant  observes,  that  the  Scythians  scalped 
their  enemies.  I  have  ever  thought,  since  my  voyage 
with  Captain  Cook,  that  the  same  custom  under  dif- 
ferent forms  exists  throughout  the  islands  in  the  Paci- 
fic Ocean.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  though  the 
Indians  at  Owhyhee  brought  a  part  of  Captain-  Cook's 
head,  yet  they  had  cut  all  the  hair  off,  which  they  did 
not  return  to  us.  I  have  also  frequently  observed  the 
islanders  to  wear  great  quantities  of  false  human  hair. 
All  savage  nations  are  fond  of  preserving  some  badge 
or  testimonial  of  the  victory  over  their  enemies,  of  this 
kind.  The  ancient  Scythians  and  North  American 
Indians  have  preferred  the  scalp,  and,  among  the 
South  Sea  Islanders,  teeth  and  hair  are  in  repute  ;  all 
of  them  giving  preference  to  some  part  of  the  head. 

"  The  ivampum,  so  universally  in  use  among  the 
Tartars  apparently  as  an  ornament,  I  cannot  but  sus- 
pect is  used  as  a  substitute  for  letters  in  representing 
their  language,  by  a  kind  of  hieroglyphic  record.  I 
intended  to  make  this  a  subject  of  attention,  and  to 
have  drawings  taken  of  the  Asiatic  and  American 
wampum,  with  the  view  of  comparing  them,  but  have 
not  been  able  to  do  it.  I  have  seen  the  initials  of  a 
Tartar's  name  worked  in  the  wampum,  on  the  borders 
of  his  garment.     A  people  having  such  great  respect 


m 


252 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


for  their  ancestors,  as  the  Tartars  have,  would  natu- 
rally endeavor  to  preserve  some  niemorNils  of  them." 
Such  are  the  observations  of  our  traveller,  on  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Siberian  Asia.  In  consider- 
ing the  Kalmuks,  Buretti,  Tongusians,  and  Yakuti,  as 
descendants  of  the  Monguls,  he  accord's  vi^ith  other 
writers,  but  he  advances  a  bold  and  novel  opinion  in 
classifying  all  these  races  with  the  North  American 
Indians,  Greenlanders,  and  the  Chinese.  It  is  true, 
the  point  seems  never  to  have  been  established,  how 
far  the  affinities  between  different  tribes,  or  nations  of 
men,  must  be  carried,  in  order  to  bring  them  within 
the  same  general  class.  Traditions,  ceremonies,  bodi- 
ly form  and  features,  habits,  laws,  religion,  and  re- 
semblance of  languages,  must  all  be  taken  into  the 
account.  Where  there  is  a  similarity  in  many  of 
these  particulars,  it  may  be  safely  inferred,  that  the 
people  among  whom  they  exist,  although  inhabiting 
regions  remote  from  each  other,  have  sprung  from  a 
common  origin ;  but  it  does  not  follow  with  equal 
probability,  that  where  this  similarity  is  least  observa- 
ble, or  perhaps  unperceived,  they  are  to  be  set  down 
as  radically  distinct  races  of  men.  So  innumerable 
are  the  causes  of  change,  in  all  these  respects,  that  no 
rule  of  this  sort  can  be  assumed,  as  applicable  to  any 
individual  case  whatever.  Customs,  laws,  pursuits, 
dress,  modes  of  life,  vary  with  the  climate  and  the 
productions  of  the  soil.  People,  who  live  by  the 
chase  and  by  fishing,  will  have  few  of  the  habits  of 
agriculturists.  Approaches  to  civilization  will  gradu- 
ally introduce  a  thousand  new  customs. 


/./ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


253 


Language  has  been  thought  the  best  criterion,  by 
which  to  judge  of  the  affinity  between  different  races, 
and  doubtless  it  is.  That  two  nations  should  speak 
languages  closely  resembling  each  other,  is  hardly  pos- 
sible, unless  they  originated  from  the  same  stock ;  yet 
it  can  by  no  means  be  inferred  with  as  much  certainty, 
that,  because  there  is  a  wide  dissimilarity  in  their  lan- 
guages, the  sources  whence  they  sprung  were  as  wide- 
ly dissimilar.  The  same  causes,  which  change  the 
habits  of  men  under  new  circumstances  will  change 
their  language.  New  words,  and  new  combinations 
of  words,  will  be  required  to  express  ideas  not  known 
before.  The  intermingling  of  migratory  tribes,  speak- 
ing different  languages,  must  also  introduce  total  con- 
fusion, out  of  which  would  most  likely  grow  up  a 
dialect,  bearing  little  analogy  to  either  of  the  primitive 
tongues.  Let  such  a  process  be  carried  on  for  many 
generations,  by  a  succession  of  intermixtures,  and 
what  clue  would  there  be  to  guide  the  inquirer  through 
this  labyrinth  of  mutations  back  to  the  first  fountain  ? 
When  it  is  considered,  moreover,  that  all  these  tongues 
are  unwritten  and  without  any  recognised  principles, 
the  perplexity  is  increased  a  hundred  fold.  According  to 
recent  discoveries,  the  Tschukchi,  the  natives  inhabit- 
ing the  American  side  of  Bering's  Strait,  the  Eski- 
maux,  and  the  Greenlanders,  speak  languages  which 
have  many  marks  of  affinity.  Their  common  origin  is 
a  very  natural  inference.  Owing  to  a  more  recent 
separation,  or  fewer  intermixtures,  their  language  has 
been  preserved  with  something  of  its  primitive  form. 
Had  the  same  favorable  circumstances  attended  the 
migrations  of  other  tribes,  we  might  perhaps  now  trace 


11*11  if 


r  1  • 


254 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  lEIii  \Kll. 


them  to  the  same  source,  with  as  much  appearance 
of  probability.  We  might  possibly  detect  similar  re- 
semblances between  the  Iroquois  and  the  Yakuti,  the 
Mohegans  and  the  Kamtschadales,  and  even  the  Poly- 
nesians and  the  Kalmuks.  In  short,  the  state  of  the 
question  is  simply  this.  Where  obvious  analogies 
exist,  we  may  affirm  a  connexion  between  the  tribes 
in  which  they  prevail,  at  some  remote  or  proximate 
period ;  but  where  they  do  not  exist,  we  can  say 
nothing  o#the  subject.  In  the  latter  case  we  have 
no  warrant  for  deqiding  one  way  or  the  other. 

Taken  in  this  view,  no  well  founded  objection  can 
be  advanced  against  Ledyard's  opinion,  although  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  establish  it  by  a  consecutive 
series  of  proofs.  It  was  the  result  of  a  long  observa- 
tion of  general  appearances,  rather  than  of  a  minute 
and  methodical  research.  It  was  not  with  him  an  idle 
speculation,  indulged  for  the  moment,  and  then  dis- 
missed. After  his  return  from  Siberia,  he  reiterated 
the  same  sentiments.  In  connexion  with  a  short  ac- 
count of  his  travels,  he  writes  to  a  friend  in  these 
emphatic  words.  ^   . 

"  You  will  please  to  accept  these  two  observations, 
fis  the  result  of  extensive  and  assiduous  inquiry. 
They  are  with  me  well  ascertained  facts.  The  first 
is,  that  the  difference  of  color  in  the  human  species 
(as  the  observation  applies  to  all  but  the  Negroes, 
whom  I  have  not  visited)  originates  from  natural 
causes.  The  second  is,  that  all  the  Asiatic  Indians, 
called  Tartars,  and  all  the  Tartars,  who  formed  the 
later  armies  of  Genghis  Khan,  together  with  the 
Chinese,  are  the  same  people,  and  that  the  American 


-  u 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


265 


Tartar  is  also  of  the  same  family ;  the  most  ancient 
and  numerous  people  on  earth,  and  the  most  uniformly 
alike." 

In  this  place  may  be  inserted,  also,  his  remarks  to 
Mr  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  written  nearly  at  the  same 
time  with  the  above.  After  reiterating  his  opinion, 
in  regard  to  the  causes  of  the  difference  of  color  in 
the  human  race,  he  continues  ;  • 

^M  am  certain,  that  all  the  people  you  call  red 
people  on  the  continent  of  America,  and  on  the  conti- 
nents of  Europe  and  Asia,  as  far  south  as  the  southern 
parts  of  China,  are  all  one  people,  by  whatever  names 
distinguished,  and  that  the  best  general  name  would 
be  Tartar.  I  suspect  that  all  red  people  are  of  the 
same  family.  I  am  satisfied,  that  America  was  peo- 
pled from  Asia,  and  had  some,  if  not  all,  its  animals 
from  thence. 

"  I  am  satisfied,  that  the  great  general  analogy  in 
the  customs  of  men  can  only  be  accounted  for,  by 
supposing  them  all  to  compose  one  family ;  and,  by 
extending  the  idea,  and  uniting  customs,  traditions, 
and  history,  I  am  satisfied,  that  this  common  origin 
was  such,  or  nearly,  as  related  by  Moses,  and  com- 
monly believed  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
There  is,  also,  a  transposition  of  things  on  the  globe, 
that  must  have  been  produced  by  some  cause  equal  to 
the  effect,  which  is  vast  and  curious.  Whether  I  re- 
pose on  arguments  drawn  from  facts  observed  by  my- 
self, or  send  imagination  forth  to  find  a  cause,  they 
both  declare  to  me  a  general  deluge." 

It  will  be  perceived,  that  he  uses  the  word  Tartar 
in  a  broader  sense,  than  is  commonly  given  to  it,  em- 


t 


my 

m 


266 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


bracing  not  only  all  the  northern  Asiatic  races  and  the 
Chinese,  but  likewise  the  aborigines  of  North  Ameri- 
ca. Pallas  says,  that  even  the  Monguls  and  Kalmuks 
are  not  rightly  called  Tartars,  and  that  these  latter 
people  are  different  from  the  former  in  their  origin, 
customs^  political  establishments,  and  the  lineaments 
of  their  features.  They  inhabit  the  northern  regions 
of  Thibet,  and  western  Siberia,  never  mingling  with 
the  Kalmuks.  These  facts  in  no  degree  affect  Led- 
yard's  use  of  the  word.  He  employs  it  as  a  general 
term,  and  in  a  definite  manner,  without  regard  to  its 
original  meaning. 


/./ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


267 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Climate  in  Siberia. — Extreme  cold. — Congelation  of  quicksilver. — Images  in 
Russian  houses. — Attention  paid  to  dogs. — Ice  windows. — Jealousy  of  the 
Russians. — Moral  condition  of  the  Russians  in  Siberia. — Ledyard's  celebrated 
eulogy  on  women. — Captain  Billings  meets  him  at  Yakutsk,  on  his  return 
from  the  Frozen  Ocean. — Bering's  discovery  of  the  strait  called  after  his 
name. — Russian  voyages  of  discovery. — Bering's  death. — Russian  fur  trade. — 
Billings's  expedition. — His  incompetency  to  the  undertaking. — His  instruc* 
tions  nearly  the  same  as  those  drawn  up  by  Peter  the  Great  for  Bering. — 
Some  of  their  principal  features  enumerated. 

A  FEW  Other  selections  on  miscellaneous  topics  will 
now  be  made  from  that  part  of  the  journal,  which 
was  written  at  Yakutsk. 

"  At  Kazan  there  is  abundance  of  snow  ;  at  Irkutsk, 
which  is  in  about  the  same  latitude,  very  little.  Here 
at  Yakutsk  the  atmosphere  is  constantly  charged  with 
snow ;  it  sometimes  falls,  but  very  sparingly,  and  that 
in  the  daytime  ;  rarely,  if  ever,  at  night.  The  air  is 
much  like  that  which  we  experienced  with  Captain 
Cook  in  mart  glacially  between  the  latitudes  of 
seventy  and  seventytwo  ;  seldom  a  serene  sky,  or  de- 
tached clouds ;  the  upjier  region  is  a  dark,  still,  ex- 
panded vapor,  with  few  openings  in  it.  The  lower 
atmosphere  contains  :louds  floating  over  head,  resem- 
bling fog-banks.  In  general  the  motion  of  everything 
above  and  below  is  languid.  The  summers  ate  said 
to  be  dry  ;  the  days  very  hot,  nights  cold,  and  the 
weather  exceedingly  changeable,  subject  to  high  winds 
generally  from  the  north,  and  so  netimcs  heavy  snows 
in  August.  I  have  seen  but  one  aurora  borealis,  and 
that  not  an  extraordinary  one. 
33 


%v- 


!■!. 


258 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


"The  people  in  Yakutsk  have  no  wells.  They 
have  tried  them  to  a  very  great  depth,  but  they  freeze 
even  in  summer;  eonsequently  they  have  all  their 
water  from  the  river.  But  in  winter  they  cannot 
bring  water  in  its  fluid  state  ;  it  freezes  on  the  way. 
It  is  then  brought  in  large  cakes  of  ice  to  their 
houses,  and  piled  up  in  their  yards.  As  water  is 
wanted,  they  bring  these  pieces  of  ice  into  the  warm 
rooms  where  they  thaw,  and  become  fit  for  use.  Mtik 
is  brought  to  market  in  the  same  way.  A  Yaknti 
came  into  our  house  today  with  a  bag  full  of  ice. 
'  What,'  said  1  to  Laxman,  '  has  tlie  man  brought  ice 
to  sell  in  Siberia?'  It  was  milk.  Clean  mercury 
exposed  to  the  air  Is  now  constantly  frozen.  By 
repeated  observations  I  have  found  in  December,  that 
two  ounces  of  quicksilver  openly  exposed  have  frozen 
hard  in  fifteen  minutes.  It  may  be  cut  with  a  knife, 
like  lead.  Strong  cogniac  brandy  coagulated.  A  ther- 
mometer, filled  with  rectified  spirits  of  wine,  indicated 
thirtynine  and  a  half  degrees  on  B' ^uniur's  scale. 
Ca[)tain  Billings  had,  on  the  borders  of  the  Frozen 
Ocean  the  winter  before  last,  for*ythiee  degrees  and 
three  fourths  by  the  same  thermometer.  In  these 
severe  frosts  the  air  is  condensed,  like  a  thick  fog. 
The  atmosphr're  itself  is  frozen  ;  respiration  is  fatigu- 
injj ;  all  exercise  must  be  as  moderate  as  possible  ; 
one's  confidiuice  is  in  his  fur  dress.  It  is  a  happy 
provisi()ii  oi'  nature,  that  in  iich  intense  colds  there  is 
seldom  any  wind  ;  when  there  is,  it  is  dangerous  to 
be  abroad.  In  these  seasons,  there  is  no  chas<> ;  the 
auiiuals  submit  theiubelvcs  to  hunger  and  security,  and 


// 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


259 


SO  does  man.     All  nature  groans  beneath  the  rigorous 
winter.* 

"  The  first  settlers  iiere  [Russians]  came  round  by 
the  North  Sea,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 
A  gentleman  showed  me  today  a  copy  of  a  marriage 
contract  done  at  Moscow,  two  hundred  and  five  years 
ago.  It  is  a  folio  page,  and  there  are  only  sixteen 
words  intelligible  to  an  ordinary  reader,  which  corre- 
spond to  the  orthography  of  the  present  day.  Many 
instances  of  longevity  occur  in  this  place.  There  is 
a  man  one  hundred  and  ten  years  old,  who  is  in  per- 
fect health,  and  labors  daily.  The  images  in  the 
Russian  houses,  which  I  should  take  for  a  kind  of 
household  gods,  are  very  expensive.  The  principal 
ones  have  a  great  deal  of  silver  lav. shed  on  them. 
To  furnish  out  a  house  properly  with  these  DU  Mino- 
res,  would  cost  a  large  sum.  When  burnt  out,  as  I 
have  witnessed  several  times,  the  people  have  appear- 
ed  more   anxious    for   these,  than  for  anything  else. 

*  'J'ho  rollowing  is  tho  stat^imnt  of  Captain  Cochnno,  refipectingr 
the  degree  of  cold  at  tlio  river  Kolvma,  whirh  he  visitod  in  the  winter 
of  1820-'2I.  "The  weathir  proved  e>oo(dinj,'ly  rold  in  Jnnnnry  and 
February,  hnt  never  so  8(,'vero  r  5  \-  prove  it  oiii  v.nlks,  except  during^ 
those  times  wlien  the  wii  !  ",  as  iiigh  ;  it  t  i-  .<  became  insupportable  out 
of  doors,  and  we  were  c'diitcd  to  remaii  at  home.  Forty  degrees  of 
frost  of  Fahrenheit  never  afp'^ar  to  affect  u«  in  ''aim  weather,  so  much 
as  ten  or  fitYeon  during  the  time  r."  n  breeze.  i-\rliflliree  of  fleanmur, 
or  sivcvt/nevin  of  Fahrenii  >,  have  been  repeatedly  known.  I  will, 
niso,  add  my  testimony  frein  experiment  to  the  oxttuit  n\' Jhrtiftwo,  I 
h.ivo  also  seen  the  minute  liook  of  a  gentleman  at  Yakutsk,  where 
forlif/tvven  of  Reaunuir  were  rt^gistered,  equal  to  tiffhtiif'our  of  Faliron* 
lieit." 

By  various  experiments  it  l.as  been  |H,  .-r,  tluit  mercury  conjreairt  at 
thiiti/two  degrees  below  i.oro  of  licuumur's  scale,  auH  forty  of  Fahrou- 
hoit's. 


m 


260 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


miVm 


The  images  form  almost  the  whole  decoration  of  the 
churches,  aiicl  those  melted  in  one  of  them  just  burnt 
down,  are  estimated  to  have  been  worth  at  least  thirty 
thousand  roubles.  The  warm  bath  is  used  by  the 
peasantry  here  early  in  life,  from  which  it  is  common 
for  them  to  plunge  into  the  river,  and  if  there  happens 
to  be  new  fallen  snow,  they  come  naked  from  the 
bath  and  wallow  therein.  Dances  are  accompanied, 
or  rather  performed,  by  the  same  odd  twisting  and 
writhing  of  the  hips,  as  at  Otaheite. 

"  Dogs  are  here  esteemed  nearly  in  the  same  de- 
gree, that  horses  are  in  England  ;  for  besides  answer- 
ing the  same  purpose  in  travelling,  they  aid  the  people 
in  the  chase,  and,  after  toiling  for  them  the  whole 
day,  become  their  safeguard  at  night.  Indeed  they 
command  the  greatest  attention.  There  are  dog  far- 
riers to  attend  them  in  sickness,  who  are  no  despicable 
rivals  in  art,  at  least  in  pretension,  to  the  horse  doc- 
tors of  civilized  Europe.  Dogs  also  command  a  higli 
price.  What  they  call  a  leading  dog  of  prime  charac- 
ter will  sell  for  three  or  four  hundred  roubles. 

*'  Every  body  in  Yakutsk  has  two  kinds  of  win- 
dows,  the  one  for  summer,  and  the  other  for  winter. 
Those  for  the  latter  season  arc  of  many  ditferent 
forms  and  materials;  but  all  are  so  covered  with  ice 
on  the  inside,  that  they  are  not  transparent,  and  are 
uo  far  useless.  You  can  see  nothing  without,  not  even 
the  body  of  the  sun  at  noon.  Ice  is  most  commonly 
used  for  windbvvs  in  winter,  and  talc  in  summer. 
These  afford  a  gloomy  kind  of  light  within,  that  series 
for  ordinary  purposes. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


261 


wm' 


"  The  Russ  dress  in  this  region  is  Asiatic ;  long, 
loose,  and  of  the  mantle  kind,  covering  ahnost  every 
part  of  the  body.  It  is  a  dress  not  originally  calcu- 
lated for  the  latitude  they  inhabit.  Within  doors  the 
Russian  is  Asiatic ;  without,  European.  The  Em- 
press gives  three  ranks  to  officers  that  come  into  Sibe- 
ria, and  serve  six  years ;  two  while  out  from  Peters- 
burg, and  one  on  their  return.  It  has  two  important 
effects,  one  to  civilize  Siberia,  and  the  other  to  prosti- 
tute rank.  I  have  before  my  eyes  the  most  consum- 
mate scoundrels  in  the  universe,  of  a  rank  that  in  any 
civilized  country  would  be  a  signal  of  the  best  virtues 
of  the  heart  and  the  head,  or  at  least  of  common 
honesty  and  common  decency.  The  succession  of 
these  characters  is  every  six  years. 

"  So  strong  is  the  propensity  of  the  Russians  to 
jealousy,  that  they  are  guilty  of  the  lowest  offences 
on  that  account.  The  observation  may  appear  trivial, 
but  an  ordinary  Russian  will  be  displeased,  if  one 
even  endeavors  to  gain  the  good  will  of  his  dog.  I 
affronted  the  Commandant  of  this  town  very  highly,  by 
permitting  his  do^  to  walk  with  nu  one  afternoon. 
He  cx[insiu5^tcd  with  me  very  seriously  about  it. 
This  is  not  the  only  instance.  I  live  with  a  young 
Russian  officer,  with  whom  I  came  from  Irkutsk. 
No  circumslanct;  has  ever  interrupted  the  harmony 
between  us,  but  his  dogs.  They  iiave  done  ii  twice. 
A  pretty  little  puppy  he  has,  came  to  njc  one  day,  and 
jumped  upon  my  knee.  I  patted  his  head,  and  gave 
him  some  bread.  The  man  Hew  at  the  dog  in  the 
r*mf  St  rage,  and  gave  him  a  blow,  which  broke  his 
leg.    The  lesson  I  gave  him  on  the  occasion  has  almost 


m 


i- 


262 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


i:.S. 


I' "."<•.' 


cured  him,  for  1  bid  him  beware  how  he  disturbed  my 
peace  a  third  time  by  this  rascally  passion. 

"  1  have  observed  from  Petersburg  to  this  place, 
that  the  Russians  in  general  have  few  mural  virtues. 
The  bulk  of  the  people  are  almost  without  any.  The 
laws  of  the  country  are  mostly  penal  laws ;  but  all 
laws  of  this  kind  are  little  else  than  negative  instructers. 
They  inform  the  people  what  they  shall  not  do,  and 
affix  the  penalty  to  the  transgression ;  but  they  do  not 
inform  people  what  they  ought  to  do,  and  affix  the  re- 
ward to  virtue.  Untaught  hi  the  sublime  of  morality, 
the  Russian  has  riot  that  glorious  basis  on  which  to 
exalt  his  nature.  This,  in  some  countries,  is  made 
the  business  of  religion ;  and,  in  others,  of  the  civil 
laws.  In  thic  unfortunate  country,  it  is  the  business 
of  neither  civil  nor  ecclesiastical  concernment.  A 
citizen  here  fulfils  his  duty  to  the  laws,  if,  like  a  base 
Asiatic,  he  licks  the  feet  of  his  superior  in  rank  ;  and 
his  duty  to  his  God,  if  he  fills  his  house  with  a  set  of 
ill  looking  brass  and  silver  saints,  and  worships  them. 
li  is  for  these  reasons,  that  the  peasantry  in  particular 
are  the  most  unprincipled  in  Christendom.  I  have 
looked  for  certain  virtues  of  the  heart,  that  are  called 
natural.  I  find  them  not  in  the  most  obscure  vil'agcs 
of  the  empire.  On  the  contrary,  I  find  the  rankest 
vices  to  ubouiid  there,  as  much  as  in  the  capital 
itself." 

A  few  isolated  facts  will  now  be  added,  which  he 
collected  chiclly  from  the  informatioii  of  others,  but 
which  he  deemed  worthy  of  a  place  in  his  journal. 

"  The  Tongusians  are  tattooed.  The  Samoiedes 
have  the  double  headed  jiaddle.     They  fish  with  nets 


iiS.V 


// 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


263 


under  the  ice.  The  Buretti  have  the  Mahometan 
lock  of  hair.  The  Kuriies  are  tattooed.  A  journal 
of  a  Russian  officer  says  they  are  very  hairy.  They 
traffic  with  the  Japanese  in  feathers  and  fish.  The 
islands  have  little  vegetation.  The  people  are  reserv- 
ed in  conversation ;  they  are  comely ;  have  their 
materials  for  boat  and  house  building  from  the  conti- 
nent, or  from  the  Japanese.  They  are  very  wild,  and 
receive  strangers  with  the  most  threatening  and  formal 
appearance,  but  afterwards  they  are  kind  and  hospita- 
ble. The  coast  of  the  Frozen  Ocean  is  full  of  trees 
and  driftwood  for  five  versts  out.  It  is  remarked  by 
the  Russians,  that  since  their  knowledge  of  those 
regions,  the  land  has  increased  towards  the  sea,  and 
driven  it  northwards,  a  circumstance  attributable  per- 
haps to  the  large  rivers,  that  empty  themselves  there. 
— Informed  that  the  custom  of  staining  the  nails  of 
the  fingers  of  a  scarlet  color,  is  common  near  the  Cas- 
pian and  Black  seas.  I  saw  one  instance  of  it  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Kazan.  It  is  likewise  a  custom 
among  the  Cochin  Chinese.  I  saw  it  at  the  island  of 
Perlo  Condor.  The  custom  of  calling  John  the  son 
of  John,  Alexander  the  son  of  Alexander,  prevails 
among  the  Russians." 

The  preceding  selections  embrace  nearly  all  that  is 
contained  in  the  journal,  under  the  dates  of  his  resi- 
dence at  Yakutsk,  exce[)t  the  celebrated  eulogy  on 
women,  which  was  likewise  written  at  that  place. 
This  heautiful  and  touching  tribute  to  the  superiority 
of  tl»c  female  character,  is  the  more  to  be  valued,  as 
coming  from  one  whose  sphere  of  observation  and 
experience  had  been  such,  as  to  enable  him  to  speak 


'li 


i  :■■ 


f 


264 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


with  confidence,  and  whose  sincerity  cannot  be  sus- 
pected. It  is  the  simple  etfusion  of  a  grateful  heart, 
recorded  in  his  private  journal,  not  intended  for  the 
public  eye,  and  obviously  written,  like  the  rest  of  the 
manuscript  compositions  left  behind  him,  without  any 
other  design,  than  to  quicken  his  own  recollections,  or 
perhaps  amuse  his  intimate  friends  in  a  vacant  hour. 
This  eulogy  was  first  printed,  shortly  after  the  author's 
death,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  African  Association, 
in  which  it  was  inserted  by  Mr  Beaufoy,  secretary  to 
that  body,  who  then  had  the  Siberian  journal  in  his 
possession.  It  has  often  been  reprinted,  and  univer- 
sally admired,  not  more  for  the  sentiments  it  contains, 
and  the  genuine  feeling  that  pervades  it,  than  for 
its  terse  and  appropriate  language.  The  original  has 
been  altered  in  some  of  the  transcripts.  It  is  here 
introduced  as  found  in  the  journal. 

*<  I   have   observed    among   all    nations,  that  the 

women  ornament  themselves  more  than  the  men ; 
that,  wherever  found,  they  are  the  same  kind,  civil, 
obliging,  humane,  tender  beings  ;  that  they  are  ever 
inclined  to  be  gay  and  cheerful,  timorous  and  modest. 
They  do  not  hesitate,  like  man,  to  perform  a  hospita- 
ble or  generous  action ;  not  haughty,  nor  arrogant, 
nor  supercilious,  but  full  of  courtesy  and  fond  of 
society;  industrious,  economical,  ingenuous;  more 
liable  in  general  to  err  than  man,  but  in  general,  also, 
more  virtuous,  and  performing  more  good  actions 
than  he.  1  never  addressed  myself  in  the  language 
of  decency  and  frituidshiii  to  a  woman,  whether  civi- 
lized oi;  savage,  without  receiving  a  decent  and  friend- 
ly answer.     With  man  it  has  often  been  otherwise. 


/./ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


266 


or 


lere 


the 


tn  wandering  over  the  barren  plains  of  inhospitable 
Denmark,  through  honest  Sweden,  frozen  Lapland, 
rude  and  churlish  Finland,  unprincipled  Russia,  and 
the  wide  spread  regions  of  the  wandering  Tartar,  if 
hungry,  dry,  cold,  wet,  or  sick,  woman  has  ever  been 
friendly  to  me,  and  uniformly  so ;  and  to  add  to  this 
virtue,  so  worthy  of  the  appellation  of  benevolence, 
these  actions  have  been  performed  in  so  free  and  so 
kind  a  manner,  that,  if  I  was  dry,  I  drank  the  sweet 
draught,  and,  if  hungry,  ate  the  coarse  morsel,  with  a 
double  relish." 

By  these  specimens  of  his  journal,  we  may  judge 
how  the  traveller  employed  himself  at  Yakutsk,  dur- 
^  ing  the  weary  days  of  his  compulsory  residence  there. 
He  had  not  been  quite  two  months  in  this  town,  when 
Captain  Billings  arrived  from  his  expedition  to  the 
river  Kolyma,  and  the  frozen  ocean.  An  intimate  ac- 
quaintance had  formerly  subsisted  between  Ledyard 
and  Billings.  The  latter  had  been  an  assistant  to  the 
Astronomer  Bayly,  during  the  whole  of  Cook's  last 
voyage.  He  was  now  employed  under  the  orders  of 
the  Empress  of  Russia,  on  a  mission  for  exploring  the 
northeastern  regions  of  her  territories,  and  for  prose- 
cuting discoveries  in  geography  and  natural  science. 
Billings  was  much  surprised  at  meeting  his  old  ac- 
quaintance in  the  heart  of  Siberia,  not  having  heard 
from  him  since  their  separation  at  the  close  of  the 
voyage.  Meantime  he  had  entered  the  Russian  ser- 
vice, and  by  a  concurrence  of  favorable  circumstances, 
not  easy  to  be  accounted  for,  had  obtained  the  com- 
mand of  a  very  important  expedition.  Ledyard  was 
no  doubt  glad  to  meet  a  person,  in  this  rude  quarter  of 
34 


.'■*, 


i«.': 


266 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED  YARD. 


the  world,  who  could  speak  his  own  language,  and 
who  had  some  recollec^tions  in  common  with  himself; 
but,  in  other  respects,  the  companionship  was  not  such, 
as  to  promote  his  advantage,  or  his  enjoyment.  Bil- 
lings gave  no  proof,  that  he  was  competent  to  the 
high  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the  Russian  government, 
or  that  he  possessed  qualities  suited  to  win  the  esteem 
of  his  associates. 

A  few  remarks,  relating  to  the  purposes  of  the  ex- 
pedition just  alluded  to,  may  very  well  be  introduced 
in  this  place,  as  in  some  of  its  parts  it  was  more  or 
less  iu  unison  with  the  designs  of  the  American  trav- 
eller. Russian  enterprise  had  by  no  means  been  back- 
ward in  pushing  discoveries  to  the  east  and  north, 
even  at  a  comparatively  early  period.  About  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Deschneff  and  his 
compaiiions  passed  down  the  Kolyma,  sailed  along  the 
coast  of  the  Tchuktchi  country  in  the  Icy  Sea,  and 
thence  discovered  a  route  by  land  from  this  coast  to 
Anadir.  Other  adventures  were  undertaken,  and  dis- 
coveries made  at  successive  periods,  by  Staduchin, 
Markoff,  Willegin,  and  AmossofT.  But  the  journeys 
and  voyages  of  these  persons  had  extended  only  to  the 
Tchuktchi  territory,  Anadir,  Kamtschatka,  the  Kurile 
Islands,  and  to  the  neighboring  seas.  Neither  the 
Strait,  which  separates  Asia  from  America,  nor  any 
part  of  the  American  coast  on  the  northwest,  nor  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  had  been  visited  before  the  year  1728, 
when  Captain  Bering  made  his  vo3'age  of  discovery. 
This  voyage  was  planned  by  Peter  the  Great,  who 
wrote  out  with  his  own  hand  the  instructions  fpr  the 
commander.     He  died  before  they  were  put  in  exe- 


4     A 


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Bil- 
to  the 
iment, 
isteem 

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north,' 
ut  the 
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irl728, 
jcovery. 
at,  who 
for  the 
:  in  exe- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


267 


cution,  but  the  Empress,  who  succeeded  him,  car- 
ried the  original  design  into  effect.  Captain  Bering 
was  despatched  to  Kamtschatka,  with  orders  to  con- 
struct two  vessels  there,  and  to  sail  in  them  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  the  coast  towards  the  east  and 
north,  and  of  ascertaining,  if  possible,  whether  Asia 
and  America  were  separated  by  the  ocean.  In  the 
year  abovementioned  he  made  this  voyage,  and  dis- 
covered the  strait,  to  which  his  name  has  been  ?:iven. 
He  kept  so  ch  ^  to  the  Asiatic  shore,  that  he  did  not 
see  the  Ame  ii  coast,  but  he  sailed  northward 
till,  on  doubling  a  cape,  he  saw  an  open  sea  before 
him,  which  presented  a  boundless  horizon  to  the  north 
and  west,  and  convinced  him  that  the  two  continents 
nowhere  came  in  contact  with  each  other.  The  sea- 
son was  far  advanced,  and  he  returned  to  the  river  of 
Kamtschatka,  where  he  wintered. 

The  success  of  this  voyage  was  such,  as  to  encour- 
age the  government  to  undertake  others.  A  plan  was 
formed  for  navigating  the  whole  northern  coast  of 
Russia,  from  Archangel  to  Kamtschatka.  Several 
expeditions  were  fitted  out  for  this  purpose  from  Arch- 
angel, the  mouths  of  the  Ob,  Yenissey,  Lena,  and 
Kolyma,  and  after  incredible  sufferings  by  ihe  officers 
and  men  engaged  in  them,  and  the  loss  of  a  great 
many  lives  in  those  terrific  regions  of  cold  and  priva- 
tion, all  further  attempts  were  abandoned.  Some 
new  portions  of  the  coast  were  examined,  but  much 
remained  unexplored,  and  has  continued  so  to  this 
day.  No  passage  has  been  effected  entirely  round 
the  north  coast  of  Asia,  any  more  than  round  that  of 
America* 


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268 


LIFE  OP  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Twelve  years  after  his  first  discovery,  Bering  made 
another  voyage,  fell  in  with  the  Aleutian  Islands,  ex- 
plored the  American  coast  for  a  considerable  distance, 
and  discovered  and  named  Mount  Saint  Elias.  In 
returning  to  Kamtschatka  at  the  beginning  of  winter, 
he  was  driven  in  distress  upon  an  island  near  the 
Asiatic  coast,  where  he  and  several  of  his  men  died. 
The  island  has  since  borne  his  name.  The  remnant 
of  his  crew  arrived  in  the  spring  at  Kamtschatka. 

From  this  period  the  Russians  kept  up  an  active 
fur  trade,  fruni.  Okotsk  and  Kamtschatka,  with  the 
natives  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  but  voyages  of  dis- 
covery ceased  for  a  long  time.  A  tribute  in  furs  was 
collected  for  the  Russian  government  from  the  natives, 
by  the  traders  who  went  among  them,  and  authentic 
accounts  are  related  of  barbarities  practised  by  the 
latter  against  the  former,  in  their  exactions  of  labor  in 
procuring  furs,  equalling  in  cruelty  the  servitude  of 
the  mitaSf  inflicted  by  the  Spaniards  in  South  America 
on  the  Indians,  whom  they  compelled  to  work  in  the 
mines.  The  party  of  traders,  whom  Ledyard  visited 
at  Onaiaska,  however,  cannot  be  brought  under  this 
imputation  in  its  full  extent,  for  he  describes  them  as 
kind  to  the  natives,  whom  he  saw  with  them.  It  is 
to  be  considered,  nevertheless,  that  the  cruelties  were 
principally  suffered  by  those,  who  were  sent  abroad  to 
hunt  and  trap,  and  made  to  endure  cold,  and  hunger, 
and  all  the  severities  of  the  climate.  These  suflerers 
would  not  come  under  the  traveller's  observation,  in 
the  short  time  that  he  remained  with  the  traders  at 
Onaiaska. 


'  ••/ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


269 


made 
Is,  ex- 
itanre, 
s.  In 
vinter, 
'ar  the 
1  died. 
>niiiant 
a. 

active 
ith  the 
of  dis- 
irs  was 
latives, 
thentic 
by  the 
abor  in 
rude  of 
merica 
in  the 
visited 
jer  this 
hem  as 
It  is 
F5S  u'ere 
iroad  to 
hunger, 
ufTerers 
ition,  in 
iders  at 


Such  was  the  state  of  the  Russian  fur  trade  on  the 
Ameri(  an  coast,  from  the  date  of  Bering's  last  discov- 
eries, till  that  of  Cook's  voyage  to  the  northern  polar 
seas,  a  period  of  about  forty  years.  During  that 
space  the  government  appears  to  have  paid  no  atten- 
tion lo  the  subject,  except  to  take  care  that  its 
agents  at  Okotsk  and  Kamtschatka  gathered  tribute 
f  om  the  islands.  But  when  Cook's  last  voyage 
began  to  make  a  noise  in  Europe,  and  his  discoveries 
on  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America  and  in  the 
adjoining  seas  to  be  known,  the  sagacious  Catherine 
was  quick  to  perceive,  that  her  interests  were  in- 
volved in  the  affair,  and  that  it  was  time  for  her  to 
look  to  these  remote  and  hitherto  neglected  parts  of 
her  dominions.  In  short,  an  expedition  was  planned 
on  a  large  and  liberal  scale,  and  it  was  resolved, 
that,  in  preparing  for  it,  nothing  should  be  spared, 
which  was  necessary  to  combine  in  it  all  possible 
facilities  for  prosecuting  discoveries,  both  by  land  and 
by  sea. 

Professor  Pallas,  who  was  a  favorite  with  the  Em- 
press, and  who  had  travelled  in  Siberia  under  her 
patronage,  was  particularly  instrumental  in  suggesting 
and  maturing  this  plan.  The  choice  of  a  commander 
was  an  important  consideration,  and  this  was  at  last 
effected  wholly  through  the  interest  of  the  Professor. 
Mr  Billings,  who  had  recently  obtained  a  lieutenancy 
in  the  Russian  service,  had  found  means  to  insinuate 
himself  into  the  favor  of  Pallfs,  and  to  impress  him 
with  a  high  opinion  of  his  understanding  and  knowl- 
edge ;  in  which  he  discovered,  however,  after  it  was 
too  late,  that  he  was  unfortunately  mistaken.     The 


'^'^Sr 


270 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


circumstance  of  this  lieutenant  having  been  with 
Cook,  in  the  regions  that  were  to  be  explored,  filling 
a  station  which  gave  him  some  pretensions  to..<ar 
science,  was  thought  to  be  a  strong  recommendation  ; 
and  so  it  would  have  been,  if  in  more  important 
respects  he  had  possessed  the  qualities  of  a  com- 
mander, and  a  man  of  enterprise.  In  these  he  was 
singularly  deficient ;  as  was  fully  demonstrated  in  the 
sequel  of  the  expedition.  He  was  appointed  to  the 
command,  and  left  Petersburg  for  Siberia  in  October, 
1785,  about  eighteen  months  before  Ledyard  arrived 
in  the  Russian  capital. 

The  instructions  to  Billings  were  so  well  drawn  up, 
that  they  deserve  a  passing  notice.  They  were  pre- 
pared on  the  basis  of  those,  which  had  been  written 
by  Peter  the  Great  for  Captain  Bering.  Every  pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  advancement  of  science  and 
geographical  knowledge,  as  well  as  for  extending  the 
influence  of  the  Russian  government  in  remote  and 
unknown  parts.  The  great  specific  objects  were,  to 
determine  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Kolyma,  and  the  line  of  coast  from  that 
point  to  the  East  Cape  in  Bering's  Strait ;  the  con- 
struction of  an  exact  chart  of  the  Eastern  Ocean,  and 
the  islands  between  Asia  and  America ;  and  the  at- 
tainment of  all  such  knowledge  of  those  regions  as 
might  serve  to  illustrate  the  reign  of  her  Imperial 
Majesty,  by  improving  the  condition  and  promoting 
the  happiness  of  the  natives  inhabiting  those  distant 
lands,  and  by  collecting  and  diflusing  new  truths  of 
science,  for  the  general  benefit  of  mankind. 

The  instructions  for  scientific  researches  were  mi- 
nute, perspicuous,  and  explicit.     Professor  Pallas  was 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


271 


much  consulted  in  preparing  them.  And,  indeed,  the 
separate  articles  for  the  naturalist,  drawn  up  with 
admirable  precision  and  method,  were  entirely  from 
his  pen,  and  issued  with  his  signature.  Observations 
in  geography  and  meteorology,  exact  delineations  of 
charts,  and  notes  of  electrical  phenomena,  variations 
of  the  needle,  and  of  barometrical  and  thermometricai 
changes,  were  expressly  required.  The  various  de- 
partments of  the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  king- 
doms were  also  particularized,  and  the  utmost  care 
enjoined  in  collecting  specimens,  and  forwarding  them 
to  Petersburg.  Drawings  were  to  be  made  of 
curious  and  extraordinary  objects.  The  manners,  dis- 
position, and  occupations  of  the  natives  were  to  be 
described,  and  also  their  modes  of  living,  government, 
religions,  their  dresses,  arms,  and  manufactures. 
Moreover,  vocabularies  of  their  languages  were  order- 
ed to  be  made,  according  to  a  model  previously  fur- 
nished. The  commander,  the  naturalist,  and  all  the 
principal  olTicers,  were  directed  to  keep  journals  for 
the  future  inspection  of  the  Admiralty. 

Another  feature  in  these  instructions  deserves  to  be 
mentioned.  In  case  any  savage  tribes  should  be  dis- 
covered, who  had  not  been  acquainted  with  civilized 
people,  it  was  positively  ordered,  that  they  should 
be  treated  with  kindness,  and  that  the  best  means 
should  be  used  to  conciliate  their  good  opinion.  They 
were  never  to  be  approached  in  a  hostile  way, 
unless  such  a  step  should  appear  absolutely  necessary 
for  self  defence.  On  this  point  the  instructions  are 
as  full  and  definite  as  on  others,  and  breathe  a  spirit 
of  humanity,  which,  if  it  had  been  uniformly  felt  aud 


272 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


acted  upon  by  discoverers,  would  have  prevented  in- 
numerable scenes  of  bloodshed  and  misery,  which 
have  marked  the  early  intercourse  between  civilized 
and  savage  men. 

Captain  Billings  was  allowed  to  select  his  own  offi- 
cers and  privates,  and,  as  an  encouragement  to  all  the 
persons  engaged,  much  higher  pay  was  granted,  than 
was  usual  in  the  regular  service,  with  tiie  promise  of 
additional  rewards.  The  officers  were  to  be  promoted 
as  the  enterprise  advanced,  and  particularly  at  its  con- 
clusion. The  Governor  General  of  Irkutsk  was  or- 
dered to  render  all  needful  assistance,  and  unite  his 
best  effiarts  with  those  of  the  commander  to  execute 
the  designs  of  the  Empress.  No  expedition  was  ever 
more  liberally  provided,  and  none  ever  commenced 
under  better  auspices. 

When  Ledyard  met  Billings  at  Yakutsk,  he  had 
been  more  than  two  years  absent  from  Petersburg, 
and  had  spent  the  preceding  season  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Kolyma,  attempting  to  pass  along  the  coast 
in  boats  constructed  for  the  purpose.  The  ice  threat- 
ened him,  and  he  accomplished  nothing,  though  his 
lieutenant  was  extremely  desirous  to  push  forward,  at 
a  time  when,  to  all  but  the  commander,  there  seemed 
a  prospect  of  success.  He  had  now  returned,  with 
the  intention  of  going  to  Irkutsk,  and  there  superin- 
tending the  transportation  of  various  articles  to 
Okotsk,  where  they  were  wanted  for  preparing  the 
vessels,  in  which  he  expected  to  make  a  voyage  to 
the  American  coast  in  the  following  summer.  This 
was  the  opportunity,  which  Ledyard  hoped  to  em- 
brace for  securing  his  passage  from  one  continent  to 
the  other. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED  YARD. 


273 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Lcdyard  departs  from  Yakutsk,  and  returns  to  Irkutsk  up  tlie  Lena  on  the  ice. — 1> 
seized  by  order  of  the  Empres!),  and  hurried  off  in  the  charge  of  two  guards. — 
ReturnH  through  Siberia  to  Kazan. — His  reiiiurk^  on  the  pt-culiarity  of  hit 
fate. — Further  observations  on  the  Tartars. — No  good  account  of  them  has 
ever  been  written. — Passes  Moscow  and  arrives  in  Poland. — Left  by  his 
guards,  with  an  injunction  never  to  appear  again  in  Russia. — Health  much 
impaired  by  his  sull'erings. — Proceeds  to  Konigslierg,  and  thence  to  London. — 
Inquiry  into  the  niolives  of  the  Empress  for  her  cruel  treatment  of  him. — H#f 
pretences  of  humanity  not  to  be  credited. — Her  declaration  to  Count  Segur 
on  the  subject. — Dr  Clarke's  explanation  incorrect. — Tlic  true  cause  was  the 
jealousy  of  the  Russian  American  Fur  Company,  by  whose  influence  his  recall 
was  procured  from  the  Empress. — Lafayette's  remark  on  her  conduct  in  this 
particular. 

That  we  may  not  anticipate  events,  we  will  again 
take  up  our  traveller  at  Yakutsk,  where  we  left  him 
with  Captain  Billings,  then  just  returned  from  the 
Kolyma,  near  the  end  of  November.  Here  they  lived 
together  about  five  weeks.  Meantime  Billings  was 
makiii<;  preparution  for  his  Journey  to  Irkutsk,  and  in- 
vited Leilyard  to  accompany  him  thither.  This  invi- 
tation he  readily  accepted,  since  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  proceed  to  Okotsk  before  spring ;  nor  indeed 
would  any  object  be  gained  by  such  a  journey,  till 
Captain  Billings  himself  should  return  to  that  place, 
and  his  vessels  be  got  in  readiness,  for  no  chance  of  a 
passage  was  likely  to  ofler  at  an  earlier  date.  Ac- 
cordingly he  joined  Captain  Billings's  party,  which 
left  Yakutsk  on  the  twentyninth  of  December,  and 
travelled  in  sledges  up  the  river  Lena  on  the  ice. 
With  such  speed  did  they  move  forward  by  this  mode 
of  conveyance,  that  they  rea(*hed  Irkutsk  in  seventeen 
35 


274 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDVARD. 


days,  having  passed  over  a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred 
miles.  Ledyard's  voyage  down  the  river  in  a  canoe 
had  taken  up  twentytwo  days. 

Nothing  is  found  recorded  in  his  journal,  during  this 
second  visit  to  Irkutsk.  In  Sauer's  account  of  Bil- 
lings's expedition,  the  fate  which  overtook  him  there  is 
made  known  to  us,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  sub- 
mitted to  it. 

"  In  the  evening  of  the  twentyfourth  of  February," 
says  Sauer,  "  while  I  was  playing  at  cards  with  the 
brigadier  and  some  company  of  his,  a  secretary  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  courts  of  justice  came  in,  and 
told  us  with  great  concern,  that  the  Governor  General 
had  received  positive  orders  from  the  Empress,  imme- 
diately to  send  one  of  the  expedition,  an  Englishman, 
under  guard  to  the  private  Inquisition  at  Moscow,  but 
that  he  did  not  know  the  name  of  the  person,  and 
that  Captain  Billings  was  with  a  private  party  at  the 
Governor  General's.  Now,  as  Ledyard  and  1  were 
the  only  Englishmen  here,  I  could  not  help  smil- 
ing at  the  news,  when  two  hussars  came  into  the 
room,  and  told  me,  that  the  Commandant  wished  to 
speak  to  me  immediately.  The  consternation  into 
which  the  visitors  were  thrown  is  not  to  be  described. 
I  assured  them,  that  it  must  be  a  mistake,  and  went 
with  the  guards  to  the  Commandant. 

"  There  I  found  Mr  Ledyard  under  arrest.  He 
told  me,  that  he  had  sent  to  Captain  Billings,  but  he 
would  not  come  to  him.  lie  then  began  to  explain 
his  situation,  and  said  he  was  taken  up  as  a  French 
spy,  whereas  Captain  Billings  could  prove  the  contrary, 
but  he  supposed  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  matter, 


;i'    ■  h 


« 


LIFE  OF   JOHN    LEDYARD. 


276 


and  requested  that  I  would  inform  him.  1  did  so, 
but  the  Captiiin  assured  me,  that  it  was  an  absolute 
order  from  the  Empress,  and  that  he  could  not  help 
him.  He,  however,  sent  him  a  few  roubles,  and  gave 
him  a  pelisse  ;  and  I  procured  him  his  linen  quite  wet 
from  the  wash-tub.  Ledyard  took  a  friendly  leave  of 
me,  desired  his  remembrance  to  his  friends,  and  with  as- 
tonishing composure  leaped  into  the  kibitka,  and  drove 
off,  with  two  guards,  one  on  each  side.  I  wished  to 
travel  with  him  a  little  way,  but  was  not  permitted. 
I  therefore  returned  to  my  company,  and  explained 
the  matter  to  them ;  but  though  this  eased  their  minds 
with  regard  to  my  fate,  it  did  not  restore  their  har- 
mony." * 

One  word  more  only  needs  be  added  respecting 
Billings.  He  went  to  Okotsk  in  the  summer,  made 
a  voyage  to  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  thence  to  Be- 
ring's Strait.  From  the  bay  of  St  Lawrence  he 
passed  across  the  Trhuktchi  country  to  the  river  Koly- 
ma by  land,  whence  he  proceeded  to  Yakutsk,  and  at 
length  returned  to  Petersburg,  after  an  absence  of 
seven  or  eight  years.  No  evidence  ;tists,  that  his 
labors  were  of  any  service  to  Russia  or  lo  the  world, 
either  in  the  field  of  discovery,  or  the  departments  of 
science.  Sauer's  book  has  made  his  incompetency 
notorious.  The  misfortune  was,  that  this  should  have 
been  found  out  so  late.  Captain  Burney,  who  was 
well  acquainted  with  Billings  while  on  Cook's  voyage, 
observes,  in  alluding  to  Ledyard's  arrest,  '^  If  the  £m- 


*  Sne  Snuer's  Aircoiint  of  a  Geoffraphiriil  and  Astronomical  Expedi' 
tion  to  tlie  Northern  Paris  of  Russia,  die.  p.  1(M). 


^^1  > 


^■ 


.*  -'i 


276 


LIFE  OF  JOHiN  LED  YARD. 


press  had  understood  the  characters  of  the  two  men, 
the  commander  of  the  expedition  would  probably'  have 
been  ordered  to  Moscow,  and  Ledyard,  instead  of 
being  denied  entertainment  in  her  service,  have  been 
appomted  to  su])plj  his  place."  * 

Being  now  a  prisoner,  Ledyard  was  under  the  entire 
control  of  his  two  guards,  who  conducted  him,  with 
all  the  speed  with  which  horses  and  sledges  could 
convey  them,  towards  Moscow,  exposed  to  the  ex- 
treme rigors  of  a  Siberian  winter.  In  such  a  situa- 
tion, it  cannot  be  presumed,  that  he  would  have  either 
the  heart  or  leisure  to  write  in  his  journal.  A  few 
particulars  only  are  recorded,  and  to  these  a  place  will 
now  be  given.  Dates  are  rarely  noted.  The  follow- 
ing was  apparently  written  soon  after  he  left  Irkutsk. 

"  My  ardent  hopes  are  once  more  blasted, — the 
almost  half  accomplished  wish.  What  secret  machi- 
nations have  been  at  work  ?  What  motive  ?  But  so 
it  suits  her  royal  Majesty  of  all  the  Russias,  and  she 
has  nothing  but  her  pleasure  to  consult ;  she  has  no 
n:ition's  resentment  to  apjirehend,  for  I  am  the  minis- 
ter of  no  state,  no  monarch.  I  travel  under  the  com- 
mon flag  of  humanity,  commissioned  by  myself  to 
serve  the  world  at  large  ;  and  so  the  poor,  the  unpro- 
tected wanderer  must  go  where  sovereign  will  or- 
dains ;  if  to  death,  why  then  my  journeying  will  be 
over  sooner,  and  rather  difl'erently  from  what  I  con- 
teMiplated ;  if  otherwise,  why  then  the  royal  dame 
has  taken  me  much  out  of  my  way.     But  I  may  pur- 


*  Burney's  Chronological  Hbtory  of  the  Northeastern  Voyages  of 
Discovery,  p.  27P. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


277 


sue  another  route.  The  rest  of  the  world  lies  unin- 
terdicteJ.  Tiiough  born  in  the  freest  of  the  civilized 
countries,  yet,  in  the  present  state  of  privation,  1  have 
a  more  exquisite  sense  of  the  amiable,  the  immortal 
nature  of  liberty,  than  I  ever  had  before.  It  would 
be  excellently  qualifying,  if  every  man,  who  is  called 
to  preside  over  the  liberties  of  a  people,  should  once — 
it  would  be  enough — actually  be  deprived  of  his  lib- 
erty unjustly.  He  would  be  avaricious  of  it,  more 
than  of  any  other  earthly  possession.  I  could  love  a 
country  and  its  inhabitants,  if  it  were  a  country  of 
freedom.  There  are  two  kinds  of  people  I  could 
anathematize,  with  a  better  weapon  than  St  Peter's  ; 
those  who  dare  deprive  others  of  their  liberty,  and 
those  who  suffer  others  to  do  it." 

Again  he  writes,  some  days  after  the  above,  having 
escaped  from  Siberia ; 

**  1  am  now  at  Kazan ;  it  is  nine  months  since  I 
left  this  place  on  my  tour  eastward,  and  I  am  nine 
times  more  fully  satisfied,  than  I  was  before,  of  some 
circumstances  mentioned  in  my  diary  in  June  last. 
As  I  was  fond  of  the  subjects  I  have  been  in  pursuit 
of,  I  was  apprehensive  that  I  might  have  been  rash 
and  premature  in  some  of  my  opinions,  but  I  certainly 
have  not  been.  I  am  now  fully  convinced,  that  the 
difference  of  color  in  man  is  solely  the  effect  of  natural 
causes,  and  that  a  mixture  by  intermarriage  and  habits 
would  in  time  make  the  species  in  this  respect  uni- 
form. I  have  never  extended  my  opinion,  and  do  not 
now,  to  the  Negroes  ;  but  should  I  live  to  visit  them, 
I  shall  expect  to  fmd  the  same  data,  leading  to  the 
same  conclusion,  namely,  that  they  are  like  the  other 


mi 


ii 


'M 


278 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


two  classes  of  man,  which  I  call  by  the  general  terms 
of  white  people  and  Indiana,  There  are  many  rea- 
sons, that  rise  naturally  from  the  observations  on  my 
present  voyage,  which  induce  me  to  think  so,  yet  I 
still  wish  to  have  better.  1  expect,  however,  the  re- 
sult will  be,  that  I  shall  find  the  same  causes  existing 
in  Africa  to  render  the  Negro  blacker  than  the  Indian, 
as  in  Asia  to  render  the  Indian  darker  than  the  Euro- 
pean. 

"  With  respect  to  the  national,  or  genealogical  con- 
nexion, which  the,  remarkable  affmity  of  person  and 
manners  bespeaks  between  the  Indians  on  this,  and 
on  the  American  continent,  I  declare  my  opinion  to 
be,  without  the  least  scruple,  and  with  the  most  abso- 
lute conviction,  that  the  Indians  on  the  one  and  on  the 
other  are  the  same  people.  As  to  the  origin  and  his- 
tory of  the  great  Tartar  Nation,  little  has  been  essay- 
ed ;  very  little  is  known  even  of  the  extent  of  their 
country.  Albugassi,  himself  a  noble  Tartar,  has  said 
much  the  most  and  best  of  their  origin,  and  something 
of  their  extent ;  but  very  unsatisfactorily  as  to  this 
latter,  for  in  truth  he  knew  but  little  about  it.  Like  a 
soldier,  he  has  written  a  kind  of  muster  roll  of  his 
countrymen.  I  do  not  remember  anything  like  philo- 
sophical research  in  his  history,  though  I  read  him 
with  avidity.  Among  the  voyagers  in  this  country, 
even  the  most  modern,  I  have,  instead  of  more,  still 
less  information.  A  few  vocabularies  to  lead  astray 
those,  who  would  wish  to  find  real  knowledge,  and  an 
account  of  a  few  customs,  without  any  remarks  on 
them,  constitute  nearly  the  amount  of  the  whole. 
There  is,  indeed,  very  little  of  value  said  about  this 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARU. 


279 


great  people  by  any  writers.  The  late  contest  about 
the  contiguity,  or  junction,  of  Asia  and  America,  has 
accidentally  struck  out  a  few  observations,  and  one 
now  and  then  finds  somethinur  philosophically  said  of 
them,  but  very  un))hilosophically  placed  among  quad- 
rupeds, f]sh,  fowls,  plants,  minerals,  and  fossils. 
When  the  history  of  Asia,  and  I  add  of  America,  be- 
cause there  is  an  intimate  connexion  between  ihem, 
shall  be  as  well  known  as  that  of  Rurope,  it  will  be 
found,  that  those,  m  ho  have  written  the  history  of 
man,  have  begun  at  the  wrong  end." 

What  passed  at  the  private  Inquisition  of  Moscow, 
when  Ledyard  and  his  guards  arrived  in  that  city, 
there  is  no  record  to  explain.  Since  nothing  is  said 
of  the  matter,  it  is  probable,  that,  if  he  was  taken  at 
all  before  that  body,  no  specific  charges  were  substan- 
tiated, or  even  preferred,  as  in  truth  none  could  exist. 
The  idea  of  a  French  spy  in  Siberia  was  an  absurdity 
too  gross,  to  be  formally  urged  as  a  reason  for  his  ar- 
rest, although  this  had  been  given  out  at  Irkutsk. 
What  was  there  in  Siberia,  either  for  a  Frenchman, or 
a  native  of  any  other  country  to  spy  ?  Was  the  Em- 
press afraid,  that  the  French  were  plotting  a  crusade 
into  those  frozen  and  sterile  regions,  to  rescue  her 
miserable  exiles,  who  were  sufl'ering  there  the  penal- 
ties of  their  crimes,  or  the  effects  of  imperial  indig- 
nation for  tlieir  projects  of  ambition  and  aggran- 
dizement in  Petersburg  ?  It  was  not  likely  that 
France,  or  any  other  nation,  would  covet  the  control 
of  such  subjects,  or  of  such  a  land.  This  pretence  of 
a  French  spy  originated  at  Irkutsk,  where  it  was  con- 
venient that  some  false  report  should  be  circulated 


280 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LCDYARD. 


respecting  the  cause  of  his  arrest,  as  will  shortly  be 
made  manifest.     Lcdyard  again  writes, 

"  1  am  now  two  hundred  and  twenty  versis  from 
Moscow,  on  the  road  to  Poland.  Thank  Heaven, 
petticoats  appear,  and  the  glimmerings  of  other  fea- 
tures. Women  are  the  sure  harbingers  of  an  altera- 
tion in  manners,  in  approaching  a  country  where  their 
influence  is  felt.  But  wampum,  or,  if  you  will,  beads, 
tassels,  rings,  fringes,  and  eastern  gewgaws,  prevail 
as  much  here  as  in  Siberia. 

"  I  am  at  the  city  of  Neeshna,  in  a  vile,  dark,  dirty, 
gloomy,  damp  room ;  it  is  called  quarters,  but  it  is  a 
miserable  prison.  The  soldiers,  who  guard  me,  are 
doubly  watchful  over  me  when  in  a  town,  though  at 
no  time  properly  so,  through  their  consummate  indo- 
lence and  ignorance.  Every  day  I  have  it  in  my 
power  to  escape  them,  but,  though  treated  like  a 
felon,  I  will  not  appear  like  one  by  flight.  I  was  very 
ill  yesterday  ;  I  am  emaciated ;  it  is  more  than  twenty 
days  since  I  have  eat  anything,  that  may  be  called 
food,  and  during  that  time  have  been  dragged  along 
from  day  to  day  in  some  wretched  open  kibitka.  Thus 
am  I  treated  in  all  respects  (except  that  I  am  obliged 
to  support  myself  with  my  own  money)  like  a  con- 
vict, and  presented  by  my  snuff'box  of  a  sergeant  as  a 
raree-show,  at  every  town  through  which  we  pass. 
Were  I  charged,  or  chargeable,  with  any  injury  done 
or  thought  of,  cither  to  this,  or  any  other  country,  it 
might  not  make  me  contented,  indeed,  yet,  I  suppose, 
it  would  make  me  resigned.  But  to  be  arrested  in 
my  travels  at  the  last  stage  but  one,  in  those  domi- 
nions where  the  severe  laws  of  the  climate  unhappily 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED¥ARD. 


281 


detained  me,  which,  however,  I  should  have  braved, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  restraining  courtesy  of  the 
Commandant  at  Yakutsk ;  to  be  seized,  imprisoned, 
and  transported  in  this  dark  and  silent  manner,  with- 
out cause,  or  accusation,  except  what  appears  in  the 
mysterious  wisdom  depicted  in  the  face  of  my  ser- 
geant, and  of  course  without  even  a  guess  as  to 
my  destination  ;  treated,  in  short,  like  a  subject  of — 
this  country  ; — under  such  circumstances,  resignation 
would  be  a  crime  against  my  dear  native  land." 

Here  the  Siberian  journal  abruptly  comes  to  a  close, 
and  little  is  known  of  what  befell  him  on  his  way  to 
£ngland,  from  the  frontiers  of  Poland.  In  a  letter  to 
a  friend,  written  after  his  arrival  in  London,  he 
touches  again  upon  the  subject,  and  adds  a  few  par- 
ticulars, which  may  with  propriety  be  inserted  in  the 
present  connexion. 

"  I  had  penetrated,"  he  says,  "  through  Europe  and 
Asia,  almost  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but,  in  the  midst  of 
my  career,  was  arrested  a  prisoner  to  the  Empress  of 
Russia,  by  an  express  sent  after  me  for  that  purpose. 
I  passed  under  a  guard  part  of  last  winter  and  spring  ; 
was  banished  the  empire,  and  conveyed  to  the  fron- 
tiers of  Poland,  six  thousand  versts  from  the  place 
where  I  was  arrested,  and  this  journey  was  performed 
in  six  weeks.  Cruelties  and  hardships  are  tales  I 
leave  untold.  I  was  disappointed  in  the  pursuit  of  an 
object,  on  which  my  future  fortune  entirely  depended. 
I  know  not  how  I  passed  through  the  kingdoms  of 
Poland  and  Prussia,  or  from  thence  to  London,  where 
I  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  May,  disappointed,  rag- 
ged, penniless ;  and  yet  so  accustomed  am  I  to  such 
36 


'^{ 


282 


LIFE  or  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


things,  that  1  declare  my  heart  was  whole.  My  health 
'  for  the  first  time  had  suffered  from  my  confinement, 
and  the  amazing  rapidity  with  which  I  had  been  car- 
ried through  the  illimitable  wilds  of  Tartary  and  Rus- 
sia. But  my  liberty  regained,  and  a  few  days'  rest 
among  the  beautiful  daughters  of  Israel  in  Poland, 
reestablished  it,  and  I  am  now  in  as  full  bloom  and 
vigor,  as  thirty  seven  years  will  afford  any  man. 
Jarvis  says  I  look  much  older,  than  when  he  saw  me 
three  summers  ago  at  Paris,  which  I  can  readily  be- 
lieve. An  American  face  does  not  wear  well,  like  an 
American  heart." 

When  the  soldiers,  who  were  his  guards,  had  arriv- 
ed with  him  in  Poland,  they  gave  him  to  understand 
that  he  might  go  where  he  pleased,  but  if  he  returned 
again  to  the  dominions  of  the  Empress,  he  would  cer- 
tainly be  hanged.  Having  no  longer  any  motive  for 
making  such  an  experiment,  he  took  the  shortest 
route  to  Konigsberg.  Here  he  was  in  a  destitute 
situation,  without  friends  or  means,  his  hopes  blasted, 
and  his  health  enfeebled.  In  this  state  of  despondency 
and  suffering,  he  bethought  himself  again  of  the 
benevolence  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  which  had  on  more 
occasions  than  one  administered  relief  to  him,  and 
served  as  a  balm  to  his  wounded  spirit.  He  was 
lucky  enough  to  dispose  of  a  draft  for  five  guineas  on 
his  old  benefactor,  and  by  this  expedient  was  enabled 
to  pursue  his  journey  to  London,  where  he  arrived 
after  an  absence  of  one  year  and  five  months,  and 
where  he  was  received  with  much  cordiality  by  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  and  his  other  friends. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


283 


It  remains  to  inquire  a  little  further  into  the  rea- 
sons, which  induced  the  Empress  to  recall  him  by  a 
mandate  so  positive,  after  she  had  given  him  a  royal 
passport  for  proceeding  unmolested  to  Kamtschat- 
ka.  Various  conjectures,  as  to  her  motives,  have 
existed,  but  the  tale  of  the  French  spy  has  been  the 
one  most  generally  received,  probably  because  it  was 
credited  by  Sauer,  who  was  on  the  spot  at  the 
time  he  was  seized.  On  that  topic  enough  has  been 
said. 

The  avowed  pretence  of  the  Empress  has  been  as- 
certained, from  the  authority  of  Count  Segur,  who 
was  then,  as  heretofore  stated,  ambassador  from 
France  to  the  court  of  Petersburg,  and  was  instru- 
mental in  procuring  Ledyard's  passport.  In  August, 
1823,  he  wrote  the  following  note  to  Lafayette,  in 
reply  to  an  inquiry  on  the  subject. 

"  I  have  no  longer  any  letters  in  my  possession," 
says  Count  Segur,  "  relative  to  the  celebrated  travel- 
ler, Mr  Ledyard.  I  remember  only,  that  in  compliance 
with  your  request,  I  furnished  him  with  the  best  re- 
commendations at  the  court  of  Russia.  He  was  at 
first  very  well  received,  but  the  Empress,  who  spoke  to 
me  on  the  subject  herself,  observed  that  she  would  not 
render  herself  guilty  of  the  death  of  this  courageous 
American,  by  furthering  a  journey  so  fraught  with 
danger,  as  that  he  proposed  to  undertake  alone,  across 
the  unknown  and  savage  regions  of  Northwestern 
America.  She  consequently  issued  her  prohibition. 
Possibly  this  pretext  of  humanity,  advanced  by  Cath- 
erine, only  disguised  her  unwillingness  to  have  the 
new  possessions  of  Russia,  on  the  western  coast  of 


w^ 


i   , 


284 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


America,  seen  by  an  enlightened  citizen  of  the  United 
•  States.  The  above,  however,  were  the  reasons  she 
advanced  to  me." 

Few  will  doubt,  probably,  that  the  closing  conjec- 
ture of  Count  Segur  is  much  more  plausible,  than  the 
alleged  humanity  of  the  Empress.  It  is  clothing  this 
virtue  in  the  royal  breast  with  an  air  a  little  too  roman- 
tic, to  suppose  that  she  was  prompted  by  such  a  mo- 
tive to  send  an  express  four  thousand  miles,  with  an 
order  to  arrest  and  preserve  from  his  own  temerity 
and  self-devotedness  an  individual,  in  whose  personal 
safety  she  could  not  possibly  feel  any  other  interest, 
than  what  the  sovereign  of  all  the  Russias  would  natur- 
ally extend  to  the  whole  human  family.  And,  more- 
over, this  plea  of  humanity  sounds  strangely  enough, 
when  contrasted  with  the  barbarous  manner,  in  which 
Ledyard  was  transported  across  the  frightful  deserts 
of  her  Imperial  Majesty ^s  domains.  Such  evidences 
of  tenderheartedness  he  would  very  gladly  have  dis- 
pensed with,  and  taken  in  exchange  for  them  any 
treatment  he  might  receive  from  the  savages  of  North- 
western America.  This  pretence  of  humanity,  there- 
fore, has  no  better  foundation  than  the  story  of  the 
French  spy. 

Another  explanation  is  afforded  in  Dr  Clarke's 
Travels  in  Russia,  who  had  the  account  from  Profes- 
sor Pallas  himself.  After  relating  an  anecdote,  re- 
specting the  manner  in  which  Billings  obtained  his 
appointment,  Dr  Clarke  adds ; 

^*  That  the  expedition  might  have  been  confided  to 
better  hands,  the  public  have  been  since  informed  by 
the  secretary  Sauer.     This,  Professor  Pallas  lamented 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


285 


his 


to  have  discovered,  when  it  was  too  late.  But  the 
loss  sustained  by  any  incapacity  in  the  persons  em- 
ployed to  conduct  that  expedition,  is  not  equal  to  that 
which  the  public  suffered  by  the  sudden  recall  of  the 
unfortunate  Ledyard.  This,  it  is  said,  would  never 
have  happened,  but  through  the  jealousy  of  his  own 
countrymen,  whom  he  chanced  to  encounter  as  he 
was  upon  the  point  of  quitting  the  eastern  continent 
for  America,  and  who  caused  the  information  to  be 
sent  to  Petersburg,  which  occasioned  the  order  for  his 
arrest."  * 

This  account  of  the  affair  labors  under  one  serious 
difficulty,  which  is,  that  Ledyard  did  not  meet  a  single 
countryman  of  his  own  in  Siberia.  It  could  only  be  by 
a  vague  rumor,  originally  intended  to  deceive,  that 
Professor  Pallas  was  led  into  such  a  mistake.  As 
Billings  and  Sauer  were  Englishmen,  and  spoke  the 
same  language  as  Ledyard,  these  persons  may  have 
been  alluded  to ;  yet  no  proof  exists  of  their  hostility  to 
him,  or  that  they  could  have  any  reasons  for  thwart- 
ing his  designs. 

Since  all  these  explanations  of  the  matter  are  falla- 
cious, we  must  look  for  other  causes,  and  these,  in 
my  opinion,  have  been  partly  anticipated  in  the 
remarks  already  made  on  the  conduct  of  the  Com- 
mandant at  Yakutsk.  From  all  the  circumstances, 
which  have  come  to  my  knowledge  in  the  course  of 
this  investigation,  I  am  convinced,  that  a  plan  was 
concerted  at  Irkutsk  to  send  him  back,  very  soon  after 
his  arrival  in  that  place.     Irkutsk  was  the  residence 


*  Clarke's  Travels  in  Russia,  Chap.  II. 


286 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


of  the  Governor  General  of  all  the  eastern  parts  of 
Siberia,  and  of  the  principal  persons  engaged  in  the 
fur  trade  at  the  Aleutian  Islands.  Two  years  before 
this  period,  the  Russian  American  Company  had  been 
formed,  for  the  express  purpose  of  establishing  a 
regular  commercial  intercourse  with  the  natives  of  the 
islands,  and  of  the  American  coast.  Operations  were 
already  commenced  by  occupying  new  posts,  erecting 
factories,  building  fortifications  to  protect  them,  and 
making  other  needful  provisions  to  secure  a  complete 
monopoly  of  the  trade. 

Now  the  headquarters  of  this  company  were  at 
Irkutsk,  and  it  could  not  have  escaped  the  sagacity  of 
its  conductors,  that  a  foreigner,  visiting  their  stations 
at  the  islands,  would  make  discoveries,  which  might 
be  published  to  their  disadvantage,  both  in  regard  to 
the  resources  of  traffic,  and  to  the  cruel  manner  in 
which  the  traders  habitually  treated  the  natives,  in 
extorting  from  them  the  fruits  of  their  severe  and  in- 
cessant labors.  To  obviate  such  a  consequence,  it 
was  necessary  to  cut  short  the  traveller's  career,  be- 
fore he  had  penetrated  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia. 
In  effecting  this  point,  some  management  was  neces- 
sary, as  he  had  a  passport  from  the  Empress,  with  a 
positive  order  to  the  Governor  General  to  aid  him  on 
his  way.  This  order  could  not  be  countermanded, 
nor  the  passport  of  the  Empress  treated  with  disre- 
spect, till  intelligence  could  be  sent  to  Petersburg, 
and  influence  there  used  with  the  Empress  to  procure 
the  annulment  of  her  grant  of  protection,  and  Led- 
yard's  immediate  recall.  Time  was  requisite  to  bring 
this  scheme  to  an  issue,  and  the  first  thing  to  be  done, 


I  ll 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


287 


in  the  train  of  manoeuvres,  was  to  throw  obstacles  in 
his  path,  and  retard  his  progress.  This  was  begun  in 
good  earnest  at  Irkutsk,  where  he  was  detained  sev- 
eral days  longer  than  he  desired,  waiting,  as  he  was 
told,  for  the  post. 

The  manner  in  which  he  was  received  by  the  Com- 
mandant of  Yakutsk  has  already  been  stated.  The 
extraordinary  concern,  which  the  Commandant  pro- 
fessed to  feel  for  his  welfare,  the  arguments  he  used 
to  dissuade  him  from  going  to  Okotsk  at  that  inclem- 
ent season,  and  his  returning  Jacobi's  letter  open,  are 
all  reasons  for  strong  suspicions.  And  these  reasons 
are  confirmed,  when  it  is  known,  that  the  journey  to 
Okotsk  was  frequently  undertaken  in  the  winter. 
More  than  a  month  after  Ledyard  arrived  in  Yakutsk, 
Captain  Billings  returned  from  the  Kolyma,  which 
was  at  least  quite  as  difficult  a  journey  ;  and  the  next 
year,  Billings  passed  from  Okotsk  to  Yakutsk  in 
October  and  November,  precisely  the  same  months  in 
which  Ledyard  wished  to  perform  the  tour.  These 
facts  are  enough  to  prove,  that  the  Commandant's 
pretended  concern  for  his  health  and  comfort  was 
only  a  cloak  to  cover  other  designs,  and  to  render  it 
more  than  probable,  that  he  had  secret  instructions  to 
cause  his  delay.  This  point  was  gained,  and  the  plot 
farther  matured  by  inducing  him  to  go  back  to  Irkutsk 
with  Billings. 

Six  months  elapsed  between  the  date  of  his  first 
leaving  Irkutsk,  on  his  voyage  down  the  Lena,  and 
that  of  his  arrest.  This  afforded  ample  time  to  send 
to  Petersburg,  and  receive  returns,  even  through  the 
common  channel  of  the  post,  or  mail,  which  then 


IP: 


:*§ 


288 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


passed  with  tolerable  regularity  and  expedition  from 
the  Russian  capital  to  Irkutsk.  Thus  were  all  our 
traveller's  hopes  blasted,  and  all  his  noble  designs  for 
making  new  discoveries  and  benefiting  mankind  frus- 
trated, by  the  jealousy  and  pitiful  intrigues  of  a  few 
fur  dealers  at  Irkutsk.  The  Empress  was  duped  by 
their  representations,  and  she  deserted  on  this  occa- 
sion the  judicious  policy,  by  which  she  was  usually 
guided,  in  whatever  pertained  to  the  advancement  of 
science,  or  the  encouragement  of  enterprise.  Well 
might  Lafayette  say,  as  he  did,  that  '^  her  conduct  in 
this  instance  was  very  illiberal  and  narrow  minded, 
and  that  her  measures  were  particularly  ungenerous." 
The  conclusion  to  which  I  have  thus  been  led,  in  ex- 
plaining an  apparent  enigma  in  Ledyard's  Siberian 
adventures,  is  mainly  founded,  it  is  true,  on  circum- 
stantial evidence  ;  but  this  evidence  is  so  strong,  that  I 
know  not  how  it  can  be  resisted. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


289 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Interview  with  Sir  Joseph  Banks  in  London. — Engages  to  travel  in  Africa  under 
the  auspices  of  the  African  Association. — Remarkable  instance  of  decision  of 
character. — Letter  to  Dr  Ledyard,  containing  miscellaneous  particulars 
respecting  his  travels  and  circumstances. — Description  of  his  Siberian 
dresses. — Origin  and  purposes  of  the  African  Association. — Ancient  and 
present  state  of  Afiica. — Benefits  of  tiiscoveries  in  that  continent. — Letter 
from  Ledyard  to  his  mother. — His  remarks  to  Mr  Beaufoy  on  his  departure 
for  Egypt. — Visits  Mr  Jefferson  and  Lafayette  in  Paris. — Sails  from  Mar- 
seiles  to  Alexandria  in  Eg3rpt. — Description  of  Alexandria,  in  a  letter  to  Mr 
Jefferson. — ^Arrives  in  Cairo. — Description  of  the  city,  and  of  his  passage  up 
the  Nile. 


No  sooner  was  he  arrived  in  London,  than  he  called 
on  his  worthy  patron  and  friend,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  to 
express  his  gratitude  for  the  many  substantial  favors 
received  from  him.  Sir  Joseph,  after  questioning 
him  with  a  lively  interest  concerning  his  travels,  and 
expressing  sympathy  for  his  past  misfortunes,  inquired 
what  were  his  future  intentions.  Ledyard  frankly 
confessed,  that  he  had  nothing  in  prospect ;  that,  after 
having  struggled  against  a  tide  of  difficulties  to  ac- 
complish an  object,  which  he  had  much  at  heart, 
but  in  pursuing  which  he  had  been  baffled  in  every 
attempt,  he  felt  himself  at  this  moment  in  a  state  of 
perfect  uncertainty,  as  to  the  step  next  to  be  taken ; 
time  and  circumstances  would  decide  his  fortune. 
What  followed  will  be  best  related  in  the  language  of 
Mr  Beaufoy,  then  secretary  of  the  African  Asso- 
ciation. 

<<  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  who  knew  his  temper,  told 
him,  that  he  believed  he  could  recommend  him  to  an 
37 


rr 


W- 

1 

290 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


adventure  almost  as  perilous  as  the  one  from  which 
he  had  returned ;  and  then  communicated  to  him  the 
wishes  of  the  Association  for  discovering  the  inland 
countries  of  Africa.  Ledyard  replied,  that  he  had 
always  determined  to  traverse  the  Continent  of  Africa, 
as  soon  as  he  had  explored  the  interior  of  North 
America ;  and  as  Sir  Joseph  had  offered  him  a  letter 
of  introduction,  he  came  directly  to  the  writer  of 
these  Memoirs.  Before  I  had  learnt  from  the  note 
the  name  and  business  of  my  visitor,  I  was  struck 
with  the  manliness  of  his  person,  the  breadth  of  his 
chest,  the  openness  of  his  countenance,  and  the  in- 
quietude of  his  eye.  I  spread  the  map  of  Africa 
before  him,  and  tracing  a  line  from  Cairo  to  Sennar, 
and  from  thence  westward  in  the  latitude  and  suppos- 
ed direction  of  the  Niger,  I  told  him,  that  was  the 
route,  by  which  T  was  anxious  that  Africa  might,  if 
possible,  be  explored.  He  said,  he  should  think  him- 
self singularly  fortunate  to  be  trusted  with  the  ad- 
venture. I  asked  him  when  he  would  set  out.  <  To- 
morrow morning,'  was  his  answer.  I  told  him  I  was 
afraid  that  we  should  not  be  able,  in  so  short  a  time, 
to  prepare  his  instructions,  and  to  procure  for  him  the 
letters  that  were  requisite ;  but  that  if  the  Commit- 
tee should  approve  of  his  proposal,  all  expedition 
should  be  used."  * 

This  interview  affords  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
instances  of  decision  of  character,  which  is  to  be 
found  on  record.     When  we  consider  his  recent  bitter 


*  Proc«ediog«  of  tho  African  Association,  Vol.  I.  p.  18. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


291 


experience  of  the  past,  his  labors  and  sufferings,  which 
had  been  so  intense  and  so  long  continued,  that  a 
painful  reality  had  more  than  checked  the  excesses  of 
romantic  enthusiasm,  which  might  be  kindled  in  a  less 
disciplined  imagination;  and  when  we  witness  the 
promptitude,  with  which  he  is  ready  to  encounter 
new  perils  in  the  heart  of  Africa,  where  hardships  of 
the  severest  kind  must  inevitably  be  endured^  and 
where  death  would  stare  him  in  the  face  at  every 
stage;  we  cannot  but  admire  the  superiority  of  mind 
over  the  accidents  of  human  life,  the  rapidity  of  com- 
bination, quickness  of  decision,  and  fearlessness  of 
consequences,  which  Ledyard's  reply  indicates.  It 
was  the  spontaneous  triumph  of  an  elevated  spirit  over 
the  whole  catalogue  of  selfish  considerations,  wavering 
motives,  and  half  subdued  doubts,  which  would  have 
contended  for  days  in  the  breast  of  most  men,  before 
they  would  have  adopted  a  firm  resolution  to  jeopard 
their  lives,  in  an  undertaking  so  manifestly  beset 
with  dangers,  and  which  in  its  best  aspect  threatened 
to  be  a  scene  of  toils,  privations,  and  endurance.  It 
is  needless  to  say,  that  the  committee  of  the  Associa- 
tion immediately  closed  an  agreement  with  a  man, 
who  presented  himself  with  such  a  temper,  and  with 
numerous  other  qualities,  which  fitted  him  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner  for  their  service.  Preparations  for  his 
departure  were  commenced  without  delay. 

While  these  movements  were  going  on,  he  wrote  a 
long  letter  to  Dr  Ledyard.  It  was  composed  at  dif- 
ferent times,  and  is  without  date.  A  few  extracts 
from  it  will  give  an  insight  into  his  pursuits,  and  ex- 
hibit some  traits  of  his  character  in  a  favorable  light. 


292 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


"  I  was  last  evening  in  company  with  Mr  Jarvis  of 
New  York,  whom  I  accidentally  met  in  the  city,  and 
invited  to  my  lodgings.  When  I  was  in  Paris  in  dis- 
tress, he  behaved  very  generously  to  me,  and,  as  I  do 
not  want  money  at  present,  I  had  a  double  satisfaction 
in  our  meeting,  being  equally  happy  to  see  him,  and 
to  pay  him  one  hundred  livres,  which  I  never  expected 
to  be  able  to  do,  and  I  suppose  he  did  not  think  I 
should.  If  he  goes  to  New  York  as  soon  as  he  men- 
tioned, I  shall  trouble  him  with  this  letter  to  you,  and 
with  some  others  to  your  address  for  my  other  friends. 
I  wrote  you  last  •  from  this  place,  nearly  two  years 
ago,  but  I  suppose  you  heard  from  me  at  Petersburg, 
by  Mr  Franklin  of  New  York.  I  promised  to  write 
you  from  the  remote  parts  of  Siberia.  I  promise 
everything  to  those  I  love  ;  and  so  does  fortune  to  me 
sometimes,  but  we  reciprocally  prevent  each  other 
from  fulfilling  our  engagements.  She  left  me  so  poor 
in  Siberia,  that  I  could  not  write  you,  because  I  could 
not  frank  the  letter.  You  are  already  acquainted  with 
the  intent  of  the  voyage,  which  1  have  been  two 
years  engaged  in.  The  history  of  it  I  cannot  give 
you,  nor  indeed  the  world.  Parts  of  it  you  would 
comprehend,  approve,  and,  I  believe,  admire;  parts 
are  incomprehensible,  because  not  to  be  described.  I 
have  seen  and  suffered  a  great  deal,  but  I  now  have 
my  health  and  spirits  in  perfection. 

"  By  my  acquaintances  in  London  my  arrival  was 
announced  to  a  society  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen, 
who  had  for  some  time  been  fruitlessly  inquiring  for 
some  person  to  travel  through  the  continent  of  Africa. 
I  was  asked,  and  consented  to  undertake  the  tour. 


I 

I 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


293 


The  society  have  appropriated  a  sum  of  money  to  de- 
fray the  expenses.  I  dine  with  them  collectively  this 
day  week,  finish  the  affair,  and  within  the  month  shall 
be  on  the  move.  My  route  will  be  from  here  to  Paris, 
thence  to  Maiseilles,  across  the  Mediterranean  to 
Alexandria  in  Egypt,  and  then  to  Grand  Cairo.  Be- 
yond is  unknown,  and  my  discoveries  begin.  Where 
they  will  terminate,  and  how,  you  shall  know,  if  I  sur- 
vive. As  we  have  now  no  minister  from  the  United 
States  in  London,  and  as  I  know  of  no  certain  me- 
dium of  conveyance,  I  cannot  certainly  promise  you 
letters  from  Africa.  I  can  only  say,  that  I  will  write 
you  from  Grand  Cairo,  if  I  can  find  an  opportunity. 

"  Before  I  leave  town  I  intend  to  send  you  some 
Tartar  curiosities,  and,  if  possible,  also,  a  transcript 
of  the  few  rude  remarks  I  made  on  my  last  tour. 
The  hints  I  have  given  respecting  the  history  of  man, 
from  circumstances  and  facts  that  have  come  within 
my  personal  knowledge,  you  will  find  new  and  inter- 
esting. They  form  data  for  investigation,  but  they 
are  better  in  my  hands  than  in  any  other's,  because  no 
other  person  has  seen  so  much  of  Asia  and  America. 
They  might  amuse  you  in  the  happy  retirement, 
which  Mr  Jarvis  tells  me  you  enjoy  on  Long  Island. 
My  seeing  this  gentleman  has  been  almost  as  good  as 
a  visit  to  New  York.  Nothing  in  his  account  of  our 
family  and  friends  has  affected  me  so  much,  as  the 
mercantile  misfortunes  of  your  worthy  brother.  Sure- 
ly the  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the 
strong.  Did  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  which  I  shall 
soon  see,  cover  hearts  as  worthy  as  his,  I  should  no 
more  style  them  monuments  of  human  imbecility ;  I 


294 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


should  worship  before  them.  Mr  Jarvis  has  not  been 
.  able  to  give  me  an  exact  account  of  his  situation.  He 
only  tells  me,  that  he  has  failed  in  business  and  retired 
to  Jersey,  where  I  think  he  ought  to  stay,  for  the 
world  is  absolutely  unworthy  of  him.  I  do  not  say 
this,  because  he  is  my  cousin,  and  shared  with  you 
the  earliest  attachment  of  my  heart.  These  are 
things  that  I  feel,  and  that  the  world  has  nothing  to 
do  with,  any  more  than  it  ought  to  have  with  him. 
They  are  compliments,  which  his  enemies  would 
make  him,  if  he  had  any.  I  never  knew  so  much 
merit  so  unfortunate.  I  cannot  reflect  on  his  fate  un- 
impassioned.  He  should  retire  ;  if  barely  comfortable 
it  will  be  enough,  for  he  cannot  go  from  dignity.  My 
heart  is  on  your  side  of  the  Atlantic.  I  know  the 
charms  on  Long  Island,  the  additional  ones  of  your 
residence  there,  and  the  sweet  accordance  of  recubans 
sub  iegminefagi.  Do  not  think,  because  I  have  seen 
much  of  the  world,  and  must  see  more,  that  I  have 
forgotten  America.  I  could  as  soon  forget  you,  my- 
self, my  God. 

*'  My  travels  have  brought  upon  me  a  numerous 
correspondence,  which,  added  to  the  employments  of 
my  new  enterprise,  leaves  me  little  leisure.  I  am 
alone  n  everything,  and  in  most  things  so,  because 
nobody  has  been  accustomed  to  think  and  act  in  trav- 
elling matters  as  I  do.  I  am  sorry  Mr  Jarvis  will  go 
so  soon.  Today  is  Saturday,  and  he  will  call  on 
Tuesday,  to  receive  the  things  for  you,  and  lake  leave 
of  me.  My  time  is  wholly  occupied,  and  it  happens 
that  just  at  this  moment  I  am  the  busiest  with  the 
African  Society.     Among  other  things,  I  wish  to  send 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


295 


you  a  copy  of  my  Swedish  portrait  at  Somerset 
House.  I  have  one  by  me,  but  it  is  a  stupid  thing. 
It  was  taken  by  a  boy,  who  is  as  dumb  and  deaf  as 
the  portrait  itself.  He  is,  however,  under  the  patron- 
age of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  the  English  Raphael. 
The  boy  was  sent  to  me  by  a  country  squire,  who  ac- 
cidentally got  acquainted  with  me  at  an  inn,  where  I 
lodged  in  London,  and  who  has  taken  a  wonderful 
fancy  to  me,  and  begs  to  hang  me  up  in  his  hall.  This 
one  is  still  unfinished,  and  so  is  the  one  for  the  squire. 
They  are  mere  daubings.  Jarvis  says  our  Trumbull 
is  clever,  and  advises  me  to  get  him  to  copy  the 
Swedish  drawing,  which  is  not  only  a  perfect  likeness, 
but  a  good  painting.  If  I  do  according  to  his  advice, 
it  cannot  be  soon ;  and,  indeed,  1  should  not  trouble 
you,  or  myself,  about  this  shadow  of  your  friend,  were 
I  sure  of  presenting  him  to  you  hereafter  in  substance. 
I  shall  not  have  time  to  settle  my  affairs  before  Jarvis 
goes,  if  it  is  tomorrow,  for  tomorrow  I  must  be  with 
the  African  committee. 

"  Jarvis  is  this  moment  going.  Adieu. — He  will 
not  take  the  one  hundred  livres." 

It  may  be  well  to  add  here,  rather  as  a  matter  of 
curiosity,  than  for  any  other  purpose,  his  description 
of  the  Siberian  articles  of  clothing,  which  he  sent  to 
Dr  Ledyard  by  Mr  Jarvis.  He  was  now  going  to  a 
climate,  where  he  would  have  no  occasion  for  a  dress, 
suited  to  the  winters  of  Siberia. 

"  The  dresses  I  send  you,"  he  writes,  "  are  such  as 
I  have  worn  through  many  a  scene,  and  was  glad  to 
get  them.  The  surtout  coat  is  made  of  reindeer 
tkin,  and  edged  with  the  dewlap  of  the  moose.     Per- 


m 


296 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


haps  you  will  wear  this  yourself  in  winter.  It  was 
made  for  a  riding  coat,  and  I  have  rode  both  horses 
and  deer  with  it.  The  first  cap  is  of  the  Siberian  red 
fox ;  it  is  a  travelling  cap,  and  the  form  is  entirely 
Tartar.  The  second  cap  is  Russian,  consisting  of 
white  ermine,  and  bordered  with  blue  fox  skin ;  it 
cost  me  at  Yakutsk  twentyfive  roubles,  which  is  four 
guineas  and  one  rouble.  The  sr.rtout  coat  cost  seven- 
ty roubles ;  the  fox  skin  cap  six  roubles.  The  gloves 
are  made  of  the  feet  of  the  fox,  and  lined  with  the 
Tartar  hare,  and  cost  five  roubles.  The  frock  is  in 
form  and  style  truly  Tartar.  It  was  presented  to  me, 
and  came  from  the  borders  of  the  Frozen  Ocean,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Kolyma.  It  is  made  of  a 
spotted  reindeer  calf ;  the  edging  is  the  same  as  that 
on  the  surtout.  You  will  see,  on  the  inside  of  the 
skin,  a  number  of  spots ;  these  were  occasioned  by  a 
small  insect  bred  there  from  the  eggs  of  a  species  of 
fly,  which,  together  with  the  vast  numbers  of  musqui- 
tos,  obliges  this  charming  animal  to  migrate  annually 
north  and  south,  as  the  seasons  change. 

"  The  boots  are  made  also  of  reindeer  skin,  and 
ornamented  with  European  cloth  ;  the  form  is  Tartar ; 
they  cost  eight  roubles.  The  socks  for  the  boots  are 
made  of  the  skin  of  an  old  reindeer.  They  are  worn 
on  the  inside  of  the  boots,  with  the  hair  to  the  feet, 
with  or  without  stockings.  These  were  presented  to 
me,  and  came  from  the  borders  of  the  Frozen  Ocean. 
The  cloak,  which  they  are  wrapped  up  in,  was  made 
>  in  London.  I  travelled  on  foot  with  it  in  Denmark, 
Sweden,  Lapland,  Finland,  and  the  Lord  knows 
where.   I  have  slept  in  it,  eat  in  it,  drank  in  it,  fought 


i 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


297 


€!r 


in  it,  negotiated  in  it.  Through  every  scene  it  has 
been  my  constant  and  hardy  servant,  from  my  depar- 
ture till  my  return  to  London.  And  now  to  give  it  an 
asylum  (for  I  have  none),  I  send  it  to  you.  Lay  it 
up ;  as  soon  as  I  can,  I  will  call  and  lay  myself  up 
with  it.  I  have  mentioned  the  prices  of  the  above 
articles,  to  give  you  a  notion  how  dear  fur  dresses  are, 
even  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  vast  dominions  of 
Russia.  These  clothes  were  not  all  that  I  wore  last 
winter ;  I  wore  many  others,  and  froze  my  nose  and 
ears  after  all.  You  have  no  idea  of  the  excessive 
cold  in  those  regions." 

The  Society,  in  whose  service  Ledyard  was  now 
engaged,  had  its  origin  with  a  few  individuals  in  Lon- 
don, but  the  number  of  its  members  soon  increased  to 
about  two  hundred,  among  whom  were  some  of 
the  most  eminent  men  in  the  kingdom.  Their  imme- 
diate object  was  to  promote  discoveries  in  the  inte- 
rior of  Africa,  and  a  fund  was  raised  by  a  sub- 
scription from  each  member,  for  the  purpose  of 
effecting  that  object.  The  Society  was  denominated 
the  African  Association,  and  was  patronized  by  the 
king.  A  committee  was  to  be  annually  chosen  by 
ballot,  whose  duty  it  was  to  transact  the  affairs  of  the 
Society,  by  taking  charge  of  the  funds,  employing 
persons  to  travel,  collecting  intelligence,  and  keeping 
up  a  correspondence  with  various  parts  of  Africa. 
The  first  committee  appointed,  and  that  with  which 
Ledyard  made  his  arrangements,  consisted  of  Lord 
Rawdon,  the  Bishop  of  Landaff,  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 
Mr  Beaufoy,  and  Mr  Steuai  t.  Among  the  other  mem- 
bers, who  joined  the  Society  at  tho  beginning,  were 
38 


^i 


298 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


Mr  Addington,  the  Earl  of  Bute,  General  Conway, 
the  Duke  of  Grafton,  Edward  Gibbon,  John  Hunter, 
Dr  Lettsom,  the  Earl  of  Moira,  the  Duke  of  North- 
umberland, Lord  Sheffield,  Benjamin  Vaughan,  and 
Mr  Wilberforce.  An  institution,  supported  by  names  of 
such  weight  and  respectability,  would  naturally  attract 
public  attention,  and  ensure  all  the  success  of  which 
the  nature  of  its  designs  was  susceptible. 

For  many  ages  the  continent  of  Africa  had  been  a 
neglected  portion  of  the  globe,  of  which  the  rest  of 
the  world  had  taken  little  account.  The  learning, 
and  splendor,  and  prowess  of  Egypt  were  departed ; 
Carthage,  with  all  its  glory,  had  sunk  into  the  dust ; 
the  proud  monuments  of  Numidian  greatness  had 
been  blotted  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  almost 
from  the  memory  of  man.  The  gloom  of  this  scene 
was  heightened,  not  more  by  the  ravages  of  time  in 
destroying  what  had  been,  than  by  the  contrasts, 
which  succeeding  changes  had  produced.  A  semibar- 
barous  population,  gathered  from  the  wrecks  of  fallen 
nations,  enemies  to  the  arts  and  to  the  best  social  in- 
terests of  man,  had  gradually  spread  themselves  over 
the  whole  northern  borders  of  Africa,  and  presented  a 
barrier  to  the  hazards  of  enterprise,  no  less  than  to 
the  inroads  of  civilization.  Whatever  might  be  the 
ardor  for  discovery  and  the  disregard  of  danger,  no- 
body cared  to  penetrate  into  these  regions,  where  all 
was  uncertainty,  and  were  the  chance  of  success  bore 
no  proportion  to  the  perils  that  must  be  encountered. 

There  is  no  question,  that  the  northern  half  of 
Africa  was  better  known  to  the  Romans,  at  the  time 
of  Julius  Caesar,  than  to  the  Europeans  in  the  middle 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


299 


of  the  eighteenth  century.  A  few  scattered  names  of 
rivers,  towns,  and  nations,  occupied  the  map  of  the 
interior,  traced  there  by  a  hesitating  hand,  on  the  du- 
bious authority  of  the  Nubian  geographer,  Edrissi,  and 
the  Spanish  traveller,  Leo  Africanus.  Tlie  rhymes 
of  Swift  on  this  subject  were  not  more  witty  than 
true. 

"  Geographers,  in  Afric  maps, 
With  savage  pictures  fill  their  gaps, 
And  o'er  unhabitable  downs 
Place  elephants  for  want  of  towns." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Leo  pene- 
trated as  far  as  Timbuctoo  and  the  Niger,  but  so  im- 
perfect were  his  descriptions  even  of  what  he  saw, 
that  very  little  geographical  knowledge  was  communi- 
cated by  them.  He  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Niger, 
but  it  could  not  be  ascertained  from  his  account, 
whether  this  river  ran  to  the  east  or  west,  nor  indeed, 
whether  it  existed  as  a  separate  stream.  In  short, 
down  to  the  time  when  the  African  Association  was 
formed,  almost  the  whole  of  this  vast  continent,  its 
geography  and  physical  resources,  its  inhabitants, 
governments,  languages,  were  a  desideratum  in  the  his- 
tory of  nature  and  of  man.  It  could  not  be  doubted, 
that  many  millions  of  human  beings  inhabited  these 
hidden  regions.  Nor  were  the  character  and  condition 
of  these  people,  their  institutions  and  social  advance- 
ment, mere  matters  of  curiosity ;  they  had  a  relation 
to  the  people  of  other  parts  of  the  globe,  and,  when 
discovered  and  understood,  might  be  turned  to  the 
common  advantage  of  the  great  human  family.    There 


'  \ 


''•  :m 


tftlC 

w 


300 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


are  no  nations,  that  may  not  profit  by  an  intercourse 
.between  each  other,  either  by  an  exchange  of  pro- 
ducts peculiar  to  each,  or  by  a  reciprocal  moral  influ- 
ence, or  by  both. 

On  these  broad  and  benevolent  principles  the  Socie- 
ty for  promoting  discoveries  in  Africa  was  instituted, 
and  the  scheme  was  worthy  of  the  enlightened  philan- 
thropists, by  whom  it  was  devised.  Ledyard's  instruc- 
tions were  few,  simple,  and  direct.  He  was  to  repair 
first  to  Egypt,  travel  thence  across  the  continent,  make 
such  observations  as  he  could,  and  report  the  results  to 
the  Association.  Everything  was  left  to  his  discretion. 
His  past  experience,  the  extraordinary  energy  of  his 
chafacter,  his  disinterestedness,  and  the  enthusiasm 
with  which  he  engaged  in  the  present  undertaking, 
were  all  such  as  to  ensure  the  confidence  of  his  em- 
ployers, and  inspire  them  with  sanguine  hopes. 

As  for  himself,  at  no  period  of  his  life  had  he  re- 
flected with  so  much  satisfaction  on  his  condition,  or 
his  prospects.  Heretofore  he  had  always  been  alone, 
oppressed  with  poverty,  and  contending  with  an  ad- 
verse fate.  But  now  he  was  free  from  want,  patron- 
ized by  the  first  men  in  Great  Britain,  and  engaged 
at  their  solicitation,  and  under  their  auspices,  in  an 
enterprise,  fraught,  it  is  true,  with  many  dangers,  but 
promising  the  glory  of  which  he  had  ever  been  ambi- 
tious, and  opening  to  him  a  field  of  adventure,  which 
his  imagination  had  pictured  to  him  as  the  first  to 
be  chosen,  after  he  had  discharged  what  he  deemed  a 
paramount  duty,  in  exploring  the  unknown  y.Kns  of 
the  continent  to  which  he  owed  his  birth.  When  he 
was  departing  from  London  for  Egypt,  he  may  be 


4: 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


301 


said  to  have  been,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  at  the 
summit  of  his  wishes.  All  previous  cares,  defeats, 
and  disasters  appear  to  have  been  forgotten,  or  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  deep  interests  of  the  present,  and  the 
cherished  anticipations  of  the  future.  A  letter  writ- 
ten to  his  mother  at  this  time  will  indicate  the  tone 
of  his  spirits. 

"  Truly  is  it  written,  that  the  ways  of  God  are 
past  finding  out,  and  his  decrees  unsearchable.  Is  the 
Lord  thus  great  ?  So  also  is  he  good.  I  am  an 
instance  of  it.  I  have  trampled  the  world  under  my 
feet,  laughed  at  fear,  and  derided  danger.  Through 
millions  of  fierce  savages,  over  parching  deserts,  the 
freezing  north,  the  everlasting  ice,  and  stormy  seas, 
have  I  passed  without  harm.  How  good  is  my  God ! 
What  rich  subjects  have  I  for  praise,  love,  and  adora- 
tion! 

*'  I  am  but  just  returned  to  England  from  my  trav- 
els of  two  years,  and  am  going  away  into  Africa  to 
examine  that  continent.  I  expect  to  be  absent  three 
years.  I  shall  be  in  £gypt  as  soon  as  I  can  get  there, 
and  after  that  go  into  unknown  parts.  I  have  full 
and  perfect  health.  Remember  me  to  my  brothers 
and  sisters.  Desire  them  to  remember  me,  for,  if 
Heaven  permits,  I  shall  see  them  again.  I  pray  God 
to  bless  and  comfort  you  all.     Farewell." 

At  length  the  preparations  for  his  departure  were 
completed.  He  had  become  well  acquainted  with  the 
views  of  the  committee ;  and  a  sufficient  amount  of 
money  had  been  raised,  by  the  subscriptions,  to  pro- 
vide for  the  expenses  of  his  journey  to  Egypt,  and 
to  purchase  such  articles  of  mercbaodise  as   might 


■;!!  r 


>mi 


i!  i 


11^ 


IHnir 


"fe 


r 


302 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


be  found  necessary  to  enable  him  to  assume  the  char- 
acter of  a  trader  in  a  caravan  to  the  interior,  or  for 
travelling  in  any  other  manner,  which  he  should  deem 
most  expedient  when  on  the  spot.  The  last  letter  he 
wrote  to  America  was  a  short  one,  dated  at  London, 
on  the  twentyninth  of  June. 

**  I  suppose  that  my  letter  and  curiosities,  sent  by 
Mr  Jarvis,  are  now  half  way  over  the  Atlantic.  Here 
you  have  a  little  portrait,  which  I  leave  to  the  care  of 
his  brother  in  town.  Enclosed  with  it  is  a  poor  por- 
trait of  me,  taken  by  the  dumb  boy  mentioned  in  my 
other  letter.  If  it  were  anything  like  painting,  I 
would  desire  you  to  keep  it.  As  it  is,  I  beg  you  will 
send  it  to  my  mother.  She  will  be  as  fond  of  it,  as  if 
done  by  Guido.  I  would  have  sent  it  framed,  if  the 
opportunity  would  have  permitted.  Tomorrow  morn- 
ing I  set  out  for  France.     Adieu." 

Accordingly  he  left  London  on  the  thirtieth  of 
June.  Mr  Beaufoy  speaks  of  the  interview  he  had 
with  him,  just  as  he  was  setting  off,  and  adds  these 
affecting  remarks,  as  given  in  Ledyard's  own  words. 

*< '  I  am  accustomed,'  said  he,  in  our  last  conversa- 
tion, ('twas  on  the  morning  of  his  departure  for  Afri- 
ca), *  I  am  accustomed  to  hardships.  I  have  known 
both  hunger  and  nakedness  to  the  utmost  extremity  of 
human  suffering.  I  have  known  what  it  is  to  have 
food  given  me  as  charity  to  a  madman ;  and  I  have  at 
times  been  obliged  to  shelter  myself  under  the  mise- 
ries of  that  character,  to  avoid  a  heavier  calamity. 
My  distresses  have  been  greater  than  I  have  ever 
owned,  or  ever  will  own  to  any  man.  Such  evils  are 
terrible  to  bear ;    but  they  never  yet  had  power  to 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


303 


r4' 


turn  me  from  my  purpose.  If  1  live,  I  will  faithfully 
perform,  in  its  utmost  extent,  my  engagement  to  the 
society ;  and  if  1  perish  in  the  attempt,  my  honor  will 
still  be  safe,  for  death  cancels  all  bonds.' " 

In  Paris  he  met  with  Mr  Jefferson,  Lafayette,  and 
several  others  of  his  old  friends,  whom  he  had  left 
there  three  years  before,  and  towards  whom  he  enter- 
tained sentiments  of  the  warmest  gratitude.  He 
continued  at  Paris  seven  or  eight  days,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  Marseilles,  where  he  took  ship  for  Alexan- 
dria. From  this  place  he  wrote  to  Mr  Jefferson  the 
following  letter. 

.  "  As  I  shall  go  to  Cairo  in  a  few  days,  from  whence 
it  may  be  difficult  for  me  to  write  to  you,  I  do' it  here, 
though  unprepared.  I  am  in  good  health  and  spirits, 
and  the  prospects  before  me  are  flattering.  This  in- 
telligence, with  my  wishes  for  your  happiness  and  an 
eternal  remembrance  of  your  goodness  to  me,  must 
form  the  only  part  of  my  letter  of  any  consequence  ; 
except  that  I  desire  to  be  remembered  to  the  Marquis 
de  la  Fayette,  his  lady,  Mr  Short,  and  other  friends. 
Deducting  the  week  1  stayed  at  Paris,  and  two  days 
at  Marseilles,  I  was  only  thirty  four  days  from  London 
to  this  place. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you,  that  I  regret  having 
visited  the  gentleman  you  mentioned,  and  of  having 
made  use  of  your  name.  I  shall  ever  think,  though 
he  was  extremely  polite,  that  he  rather  strove  to  pre- 
vent my  embarking  at  Marseilles,  than  to  facilitate  it ; 
for,  by  bandying  me  about  among  the  members  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  he  had  nearly,  and  very  nearly, 
lost  me  my  passage  ;  and  in  the  last  ship  from  Mar- 


i..iij, 


B 


§ 
■  ..,1, 

m 


304 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


seilles  for  the  season.  He  knew  better ;  he  knew 
that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  had  no  busmess  with 
'  me ;  and,  besides,  I  only  asked  him  if  he  could  with- 
out trouble  address  me  to  the  captain  of  a  ship  bound 
to  Alexandria  ;  nothing  more. 

"  Alexandria  at  large  presents  a  scene  more  wretch- 
ed, than  I  have  witnessed.  Poverty,  rapine,  murder, 
tumult,  blind  bigotry,  cruel  persecution,  pestilence ! 
A  small  town  built  on  the  ruins  of  antiquity,  as  re- 
markable for  its  miserable  architecture,  as  I  suppose 
the  place  once  was  for  its  good  and  great  works  of 
that  kind.  Pompey's  Pillar  and  Cleopatra's  Obelisk 
are  now  almost  the  only  remains  of  remote  ar'fiquity. 
They  are  both,  and  particularly  the  former,  noble  ob- 
jects to  contemplate,  and  are  certainly  more  captivat- 
ing from  the  contrast  of  the  deserts  and  forlorn 
prospects  around  them.  No  man  of  whatever  turn  of 
mind  can  see  the  whole,  without  retiring  from  the 
scene  with  a  Sic  transit  gloria  mu7\'fi," 

Having  passed  ten  days  only  at  Alexandria,  he  pur- 
sued his  journey  up  the  Nile  to  Cairo,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  nineteenth  of  August.  Here  again  he 
wrote  to  Mr  Jefferson. 

*'  I  sent  you  a  short  letter  from  Alexandria.  I  be- 
gin this  without  knowing  where  I  shall  close  it,  or 
when  I  shall  send  it,  or,  indeed,  whether  I  shall  ever 
send  it.  But  I  will  have  it  ready,  in  case  an  opportu- 
nity shall  offer.  Having  been  in  Cairo  only  four  days, 
I  have  not  seen  much  of  particular  interest  for  you  ; 
and,  indeed,  you  will  not  expect  much  of  this  kind 
from  me.  My  business  is  in  another  quarter,  and  the 
information  I  seek  totally  new.  Anything  from  this 
place  would  not  be  so. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


"  At  all  events  I  shall  never  want  a  subject,  when 
it  is  to  you  I  write.  I  shall  never  think  my  letter  an 
indifferent  one,  when  it  contains  the  declaration  of 
my  gratitude  and  my  affection  for  you ;  and  this,  not- 
withstanding you  thought  hard  of  me  for  being  em- 
ployed by  an  English  Association,  which  hurt  me 
much  while  I  was  at  Paris.  You  know  your  own 
heart,  and  if  my  suspicions  are  groundless,  forgive 
them,  since  they  proceed  from  the  jealousy  I  have, 
not  to  lose  the  regard  you  have  in  times  past  been 
pleased  to  honor  me  with.  You  are  not  obliged  to 
esteem  me,  but  I  am  obliged  to  esteem  you,  or  to 
take  leave  of  my  senses,  and  confront  the  opinions  of 
the  greatest  and  best  characters  I  know.  If  I-cannot, 
therefore,  address  myself  to  you  as  a  man  you  regard, 
I  must  do  it  as  one  that  regards  you  for  your  own 
sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  my  country,  which  has  set 
me  the  example. 

"  I  made  my  tour  from  Alexandria  by  water,  and 
entered  the  Nile  by  the  western  branch  of  the  mouths 
of  the  river.  I  was  five  days  coming  to  Cairo,  but 
this  passage  is  generally  made  in  four,  and  sometimes 
in  three  days.  You  have  heard  and  read  much  of  the 
Nile,  and  so  had  I,  but  when  I  saw  it,  I  could  not 
conceive  it  to  be  the  same.  What  eyes  do  travellers 
see  with  ?  Are  they  fools  or  rogues  ?  For  HHiven's 
sake,  hear  the  plain  truth  about  it.  First,  in  regard 
to  its  size.  Obvious  comparisons  in  such  cases  are 
good.  Do  you  know  the  river  Connecticut  ?  Of  all 
the  rivers  I  have  seen,  it  most  resembles  that  in  size. 
It  is  a  little  wider,  and  may  on  that  account  better 
compare  with  the  Thames.  This  is  the  mighty,  the 
39 


m. 


1$'    i 


i' 


306 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


sovereign  of  rivers,  tlie  vast  Nile,  that  has  been  meta- 
morphosed into  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  Let 
me  be  careful  how  I  read,  and  above  all  how  I  read 
ancient  history.  You  have  heard  and  read,  too,  much 
of  its  inundations.  If  the  thousands  of  large  and 
small  canals  from  it,  and  the  thousands  of  men  and 
machines  employed  to  transfer  by  artificial  means  the 
Water  of  the  Nile  to  the  meadows  on  its  banks^  if  this 
be  the  inundation  that  is  meant,  it  is  true ;  any  other  is 
false.  It  is  i^ot  an  inundating  river.  I  came  up  the 
river  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  twentieth  of  August, 
and  about  the  thirtieth  the  water  will  be  at  the  height 
of  the  freshet.  When  I  left  the  river,  its  banks  were 
four,  five,  and  six  feet,  above  the  water,  and  here  in 
town  I  am  told  they  expect  the  Nile  to  be  only  one  or 
two  feet  higher  at  the  most.  This  is  a  proof,  if  any 
were  wanted,  that  the  river  does  not  overflow  its 
banks. 

<<  I  saw  the  pyramids  as  I  passed  up  the  river,  but 
they  were  four  or  five  leagues  off.  It  is  warm  weather 
here  at  present,  and  were  it  not  for  the  n'.;rth  winds, 
that  cool  themselves  in  their  passage  over  the  Medi- 
terranean, and  blow  upon  us,  we  should  be  in  a  sad 
situation.  As  it  is,  I  think  I  have  felt  it  hotter  at 
Philadelphia  in  the  same  month.  The  city  of  Cairo 
is  aboat  half  as  large  in  size  as  Paris,  and  is  said  to 
contain  seven  hundred  thousand  inhabitants.  You 
will  therefore  anticipate  the  fact  of  its  narrow  streets 
and  high  houses.  In  this  number  are  contained  one 
hundred  thousand  Copts,  or  descendants  of  the  an- 
cient Egyptians.  There  are  likewise  Christians,  and 
those  of  different  sects  from  Jerusalem,  Damascus, 
Aleppo,  and  other  parts  of  Syria. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


307 


"  With  regard  to  my  journey,  I  can  only  tell  you 
with  any  certainty,  that  I  shall  be  able  to  pass  as  far 
as  the  western  boundaries  of  what  is  called  Turkish 
Nubia  to  the  town  of  Sennaar.  I  expect  to  get  there 
with  some  surety.  Beyond  that  all  is  dark  before  me. 
My  wishes  and  designs  are  to  pass  in  that  parallel 
across  the  continent.  I  will  write  from  Sennaar  if 
I  can. 

"  You  know  the  disturbances  in  this  unhappy  coun- 
try, and  the  nature  of  them.  The  Beys,  revolted 
from  the  Bashaw,  have  possession  of  Upper  Egypt, 
and  are  now  encamped  with  an  army,  pitiful  enough 
indeed,  about  three  miles  south  of  Cairo.  They  say 
to  the  Bashaw,  *  Come  out  of  your  city  and  fight  us ; ' 
and  the  Bashaw  says,  *  Come  out  of  your  entrench- 
ments and  fight  me.'  You  know  this  revolt  is  a 
stroke  in  Russian  politics.  Nothing  merits  more  the 
whole  force  of  burlesque,  than  both  the  poetic  and 
prosaic  legends  of  this  country.  Sweet  are  the  songs 
of  Egypt  on  paper.  Who  is  not  ravished  with  gums, 
balms,  dates,  figs,  pomegranates,  circassia,  and  syca- 
mores, without  recollecting  that  amidst  these  are  dust, 
hot  and  fainting  winds,  bugs,  musquitoes,  spiders,  flies, 
leprosy,  fevers,  and  almost  universal  blindness  ?  I  am 
in  perfect  health.  Adieu  for  the  present,  and  believe 
me  to  be,  with  all  possible  esteem  and  regard,  your 
sincere  friend." 


;iii- 


it  f!| 


308 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Remarks  on  the  appearance  of  the  countiy  in  passing  up  the  Nile. — Condition 
of  a  Christian  at  Cairo. — Interview  with  the  Aga — Miscellaneous  observations 
on  the  customs  of  the  Arabs,  and  other  races  of  people  found  in  Cairo. — In- 
formation respecting  the  interior  of  Africa. — Visit  to  the  caravans  and  slave 
markets. — The  traveller's  reflections  on  his  condition  and  prospects.— 
His  last  letter  to  Mr  Jefferson. — Joins  a  caravan  and  prepares  to  depart  for 
Sennaar. — He  is  taken  suddenly  ill. — His  death. — ^Account  of  his  person  and 
chai'acter. 

As  he  was  furnished  with  letters  of  recommenda- 
tion to  the  British  Consul  at  Cairo,  he  found  little 
difficulty  in  procuring  such  accommodations  as  he  de- 
sired, and  such  information  as  enabled  him  to  direct 
his  attention  immediately  to  the  great  object  of  his 
mission.  His  intention  was  to  join  a  caravan,  bound 
to  the  interior,  and  to  continue  with  it  to  the  end  of 
its  route.  Beyond  this  he  must  be  guided  by  circum- 
stances, which  could  not  be  foreseen,  and  concerning 
which  no  calculation  was  to  be  made.  He  adopted  a 
a  dress  suited  to  the  character  he  was  to  assume,  and 
began  in  earnest  to  study  the  manners  of  the  people 
around  him,  and  particularly  of  the  traders  in  the 
caravans,  which  were  then  at  Cairo.  Three  months 
were  passed  in  this  occupation.  He  kept  a  journal  of 
whatever  he  deemed  most  worthy  of  record,  which 
was  afterwards  transmitted  to  the  African  Association. 
Such  parts  of  the  journal,  as  are  contained  in  the 
Proceedings  of  that  body,  will  here  be  added.  They 
bear  the  peculiar  marks  of  the  author^s  mind,  his 
habits  of  observation,  his  boldness  of  thought  and 
opinion,  and  his  quick  perception  of  resemblance  and 
contrast  in  the  various  races  of  men. 


LIFE  OF  JOHIf  LEDTARD. 


309 


^^ August  14th. — I  left  Alexandria  at  midnight,  with 
a  pleasant  breeze  north ;  and  was,  at  sunrise  next 
morning,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nile,  which  has  a  bar  of 
sand  across  it,  and  soundings  as  irregular  as  the  sea, 
which  is  raised  upon  it  by  the  contentions  of  counter 
currents  and  winds.     ., 

"  The  view  in  sailing  up  the  Nile  is  very  confined, 
unless  from  the  top  of  the  mast,  or  some  other  emi- 
nence, and  then  it  is  an  unbounded  plain  of  excellent 
land,  miserably  cultivated,  and  yet  interspersed  with 
a  great  number  of  villages,  both  on  its  banks  and  as 
far  along  the  meadows  as  one  can  see  in  any  direc- 
tion. The  river  is  also  filled  with  boats  passing  and 
repassing — boats  all  of  one  kind,  and  navigated  in  one 
manner ;  nearly  also  of  one  size,  the  largest  carrying 
ten  or  fifteen  tons.  On  board  of  these  boats  are  seen 
onions,  watermelons,  dates,  sometimes  a  horse,  a 
camel  (which  lies  down  in  the  boat),  sheep,  goats, 
dogs,  men,  and  women.  Towards  evening  and  morn- 
ing they  have  music. 

"  Whenever  we  stopped  at  a  village,  I  used  to  walk 
into  it  with  my  conductor,  who,  being  a  Musselman, 
and  a  descendant  from  Mahomet,  wore  a  green  tur- 
ban, and  was  therefore  respected,  and  1  was  sure  of 
safety ;  but,  in  truth,  dressed  as  I  Was  in  a  common 
Turkish  habit,  I  believe  I  should  have  walked  as  safe- 
ly without  him.  I  saw  no  propensity  among  the  in- 
habitants to  incivility.  The  villages  are  most  misera- 
ble assemblages  of  poor  little  mud  huts,  flung  very 
close  together  without  any  kind  of  order,  full  of  dust, 
lice,  fleas,  bugs,  flies,  and  all  the  curses  of  Moses ; 
people  poorly  clad,  the  youths  naked ;  in  such  respects, 
they  rank  infinitely  below  any  savages  I  ever  saw. 


I 


310 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


"  The  common  people  wear  nothing  but  a  shirt  and 
drawers,  and  they  are  always  blue.  Green  is  the 
foyal,  or  holy  color ;  none  but  the  descendants  of 
Mahomet,  if  I  am  rightly  informed,  being  permitted 
to  wear  it. 

*^  August  19tb. — ^From  the  little  town  where  we 
landed,  the  distance  to  Cairo  is  about  a  mile  and  a 
half,  which  we  rode  on  asses ;  for  the  ass  in  this  coun- 
try is  the  Christian's  horse,  as  he  is  allowed  no  other 
animal  to  ride  upon.  Indeed  I  find  the  situation  of  a 
Christian,  or,  what  they  more  commonly  call  here,  a 
Frank,  to  be  very,  very  humiliating,  ignominious,  and 
distressing.  No  one,  by  a  combination  of  any  causes, 
can  reason  down  to  such  effects  as  experience  teaches 
us  do  exist  here  ;  it  being  impossible  to  conceive,  that 
the  enmity  I  have  alluded  to  could  exist  between 
men ;  or,  in  fact,  that  the  same  species  of  beings, 
from  any  causes  whatever,  should  ever  think  and  act 
so  differently  as  the  Egyptians  and  the  English  do. 

"  I  arrived  at  Cairo  early  in  the  morning,  on  the 
nineteenth  of  August,  and  went  to  the  house  of  the 
Venetian  Consul,  Mr  Rosetti,  charge  d'affaires  for  the 
English  Consul  here.  After  dinner,  not  being  able  to 
find  any  other  lodging,  and  receiving  no  very  pressing 
invitation  from  Mr  Rosetti,  to  lodge  with  him,  I  went 
to  a  convent.  This  convent  consists  of  missionaries, 
sent  by  the  Pope  to  propagate  the  Christian  faith,  or 
at  least  to  give  shelter  to  Christians.  The  Christians 
here  are  principally  from  Damascus ;  the  convent  is 
governed  by  the  order  of  Recollets ;  a  number  of 
English,  as  well  as  other  European  travellers,  have 
lodged  there. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


311 


"  August  26tii. — This  day  I  was  introduced  by 
Rosetti  to  the  Aga  Mahommed,  the  confidential  minis- 
ter of  Ismael,  the  most  powerful  of  the  four  ruling 
Beys.  He  gave  me  his  hand  to  kiss,  and  with  it  the 
promise  of  letters,  protection,  and  support,  through 
Turkish  Nubia,  aad  also  to  some  chiefs  far  inland. 
In  a  subsequent  conversation,  he  told  me  I  should  see 
in  my  travels  a  people,  who  had  power  to  transmute 
themselves  into  the  forms  of  different  animals.  He 
asked  me  what  I  thought  of  the  affair.  I  did  not  like 
to  render  the  ignorance,  simplicity,  and  credulity  of 
the  Turk  apparent.  I  told  him,  that  it  formed  a  part 
of  the  character  of  all  savages  to  be  great  necroman- 
cers ;  but  that  I  had  never  before  heard .  of  any  so 
great,  as  those  which  he  had  done  me  the  honor  to 
describe  ;  that  it  had  rendered  me  more  anxious  to  be 
on  my  voyage,  and  if  I  passed  among  them,  I  would, 
in  the  letter  I  promised  to  write  to  him,  give  him  a 
more  particular  account  of  them,  than  he  had  hitherto 
had.  He  asked  me  how  I  could  travel,  without  the 
language  of  the  people  where  I  should  pass  ?  I  told 
him,  with  vocabularies.  I  might  as  well  have  read  to 
him  a  page  of  Newton's  Principia.  He  returned  to 
his  fables  again.  Is  it  not  curious,  that  the  Egyptians 
(for  I  speak  of  the  natives  of  the  country,  as  well  as 
of  him,  when  I  make  the  observation),  are  still  such 
dupes  to  the  arts  of  sorcery  P  Was  it  the  same  peo- 
ple who  built  the  pyramids .'' 

**  I  cannot  understand  that  the  Turks  have  a  belter 
opinion  of  our  mental  powers,  than  we  have  of  theirs ; 
but  they  say  of  us,  that  we  are  *  a  people  who  carry 
our  minds  on  our  fingers^  ends ; '  meaning,  that  we 


vi 


312 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


put  them  in  exercise  constantly,  and  render  them  sub- 
servient to  all  manner  of  purposes,  and  with  celerity, 
despatch,  and  ease,  do  what  we  do. 

"  I  suspect  the  Copts  to  have  been  the  origin  of  the 
Negro  race ;  the  nose  and  lips  correspond  with  those 
of  the  Negro.  The  hair,  whenever  I  can  see  it 
among  the  people  here  (the  Copts),  is  curled  ;  not 
close  like  the  Negroes,  but  like  the  Mulattoes.  I  ob- 
serve a  greater  variety  of  color  among  the  human 
species  here,  than  in  any  other  country ;  and  a  greater 
variety  of  feature,  than  in  any  other  country  not  pos- 
sessing a  greater  decree  of  civilization.  I  have  seen 
an  Abyssinian  woman,  and  a  Bengal  man ;  the  color 
is  the  same  in  both ;  so  are  their  features  and  persons. 

**  I  have  seen  a  small  mummy ;  it  has  what  I  call 
wampum-work  on  it.  It  appears  as  common  here  as 
among  the  Tartars.  Tattooing  is  as  prevalent  among 
the  Arabs  of  this  place,  as  among  the  South  Sea 
Islanders.  It  is  a  little  curious,  that  the  women  here 
are  more  generally  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world 
tattooed  on  the  chin,  with  perpendicular  lines  descend- 
ing from  the  under  lip  to  the  chin,  like  the  women  on 
the  Northwest  Coast  of  America.  It  is  also  a  custom 
here  to  stain  the  nails  red,  like  the  Cochin  Chinese, 
and  the  northern  Tartars.  The  mask,  or  veil,  that 
the  women  here  wear,  resembles  exactly  that  worn 
by  the  priests  at  Otaheite,  and  those  seen  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands. 

<*  I  have  not  yet  seen  the  Arabs  make  use  of  a  tool, 
like  our  axe  or  hatchet ;  but  what  they  use  for  such 
purposes,  as  we  do  our  hatchet  and  axe,  is  in  the  form 
of  an  adze,  and  is  a  form  we  found  most  agreeable  to 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


313 


the  South  Sea  islanders.  I  see  no  instance  of  a  tool 
formed  designedly  for  the  use  of  the  right  or  left 
hand  particularly,  as  the  cotogon  is  among  the  Yakuti 
Tartars. 

"  There  is  certainly  a  very  remarkable  affinity  be- 
tween the  Russian  and  Greek  dress.  The  fillet  round 
the  temples  of  the  Greek  and  Russian  women  is  a 
circumstance  in  dress,  that  perhaps  would  strike  no- 
body as  it  does  me ;  and  so  of  the  wampum-work  too, 
which  is  also  found  among  them  both.  They  spin 
here  with  the  distaff  and  spindle  only,  like  the  French 
peasantry,  and  others  in  Europe  ;  and  the  common  Arab 
loom  is  upon  our  principle,  though  rude.  I  saw  today 
an  Arab  woman  white,  like  the  white  Indians  in  the 
South  Sea  islands,  and  at  the  Isthmus  of  Darien. 
These  kind  of  people  all  look  alike.  Among  the 
Greek  women  here,  I  find  the  identical  Archangel 
headdi'ess. 

"  Their  music  is  instrumental,  consisting  of  a  drum 
and  pipe,  both  which  resemble  those  two  instruments 
in  the  South  Seas.  The  drum  is  exactly  like  the 
Otaheite  drum ;  the  pipe  is  made  of  cane,  and  con- 
sists of  a  long  and  short  tube  joined ;  the  music  re- 
sembles very  much  the  bagpipe,  and  is  pleasant.  All 
their  music  is  concluded,  if  not  accompanied,  by  the 
clapping  of  hands.  I  think  it  singular,  that  the 
women  here  make  a  noise  with  their  mouths  like 
frogs,  and  that  this  frog  music  is  always  made  at  wed- 
dings ;  and  I  believe  on  all  other  occasions  of  merri- 
ment, where  there  are  women. 

"  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  dogs  here  are  of  just  the 
same  species  found  among  the  Otaheitans.  It  is  also 
40 


* 


f 


514 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


remarkable,  that  in  one  village  I  saw  exactly  the  same 
machines  used  for  diversion  as  in  Russia.  I  forget  the 
Russian  name  for  it.  It  is  a  large  kind  of  wheel,  on 
the  extremities  of  which  there  are  suspended  seats,  in 
which  people  are  whirled  round  over  and  under  each 
other. 

"  The  women  dress  their  hair  behind,  exactly  in  the 
same  manner  in  which  the  women  of  the  Kalmuk 
Tartars  dress  theirs. 

"In  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Benin,  in 
Guinea,  the  chiefs  are  called  Aree  Roee,  or  street 
kings.  Among  the  islands  in  the  South  Sea,  Ota- 
heite,  and  others,  they  call  the  chiefs  AreeS)  and  the 
great  chiefs  Aree  le  Hoi,  I  think  this  curious ;  and 
so  I  do,  that  it  is  a  custom  of  the  Arabs  to  spread  a 
blanket,  when  they  would  invite  any  one  to  eat  or 
rest  with  them.  The  American  Indians  spread  the 
beaver  skins  on  such  occasions.  The  Arabs  of  the 
deserts,  like  the  Tartars,  have  an  invincible  attach- 
ment to  liberty  ;  no  arts  will  reconcile  them  to  any 
other  life,  or  form  of  government,  however  modified. 
This  is  a  character  given  me  here  of  the  Arabs.  It 
is  singular,  that  the  Arab  language  has  no  word  for 
liberty,  although  it  has  for  slaves.  The  Arabs,  like 
the  New  Zealanders,  engage  with  a  long,  strong 
spear. 

"  I  have  made  the  best  inquiries  I  have  been  able, 
since  I  have  been  here,  of  the  nature  of  the  country 
before  me  ;  of  Sonnaar,  Darfoor,  Wangara,  of  Nubia, 
Abyssinia,  of  those  named,  or  unknown  by  name.  I 
should  have  been  happy  to  have  sent  you  better  infor- 
mation of  those  places,  than   I  am  yet  able  to  do.     It 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


315 


will  appear  very  singular  to  you  in  England,  that  we 
in  Egypt  are  so  ignorant  of  countries,  which  we  annu- 
ally Tisit.  The  Egyptians  know  as  little  of  geogra- 
phy, as  the  generality  of  the  French ;  and,  like  them, 
sing,  dance,  and  traffic  without  it. 

"  I  have  the  best  assurances  of  a  certain  and  safe 
conduct,  by  the  return  of  the  caravan  that  is  arrived 
from  Sennaar ;  and  Mr  Rosetti  tells  me,  that  the  letters 
I  shall  have  from  the  Aga  here,  will  insure  me  of 
being  conveyed,  from  hand  to  hand,  to  my  journey's 
end.  The  Mahometans  in  Africa  are  what  the  Rus- 
sians are  in  Siberia,  a  trading,  enterprising,  supersti- 
tious, warlike  set  of  vagabonds,  and  wherever  they 
are  set  upon  going,  they  will  and  do  go ; .  but  they 
neither  can  nor  do  make  voyages  merely  commercia"!, 
or  merely  religious,  across  Africa ;  and  where  we  do 
not  find  them  in  commerce,  we  find  them  not  at  aH. 
They  cannot,  however  vehemently  pushed  on  by  reli- 
gion, afford  to  cross  the  continent  without  trading  by 
the  way. 

"  October  14th. — I  went  today  to  the  marketplace, 
where  they  vend  the  black  slaves,  that  come  from  to- 
wa]fds  the  interior  parts  of  Africa.  There  were  two 
hundred  of  them  together,  dressed  and  ornamented  as 
in  their  country.  The  appearance  of  a  savage  in 
every  region  is  almost  the  same.  There  were  very 
few  men  among  them ;  this  indicates  that  they  are 
prisoners  of  war.  They  have  a  great  many  beads, 
and  other  ornaments  about  them,  that  are  from  the 
East.  I  was  told  by  one  of  them,  that  they  came 
from  the  west  of  Sennaar,  fifty  five  days' journey,  which 
may  be  about  four  or  five  hundred  miles.    A  Negro 


J 


316 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


chief  said,  the  Nile  had  its  source  in  his  country.  In 
general  they  had  their  hair  plaited  in  a  great  number 
of  small  detached  plaits,  none  exceeding  in  length  six 
or  eight  inches  ;  the  hair  was  filled  with  grease  and 
dirt,  purposely  daubed  on. 

^KOctober  16th. — I  have  renewed  my  visit  today, 
and  passed  it  more  agreeably  than  yesterday;  for  yes- 
terday I  was  rudely  treated.  The  Franks  are  prohib- 
ited to  purchase  slaves,  and  therefore  the  Turks  do  not 
like  to  see  them  in  the  market.  Mr  Rosetti  favored 
me  with  one  of  his  running  charge  d'affaires  to  accom- 
pany me ;  but  having  observed  yesterday  among  the 
ornaments  of  the  Negroes  a  variety  of  beads,  and 
wanting  to  know  from  what  country  they  came,  I  re- 
quested Mr  Rosetti,  previously  to  my  second  visit,  to 
show  me  from  his  store  samples  of  Venetian  beads. 
He  showed  me  samples  of  fifteen  hundred  different 
kinds ;  after  this  I  set  out. 

<<  The  name  of  the  country  these  savages  come  from 
is  Darfoor,  and  is  well  known  on  account  of  the  slave 
trade,  as  well  as  of  that  in  gum  and  elephants'  teeth. 
The  appearance  of  these  Negroes  declares  them  to  be 
a  people,  in  as  savage  a  state  as  any  people  can  be ; 
but  not  of  so  savage  a  temper,  or  of  that  species  of 
countenance,  that  indicates  savage  intelligence.  They 
appear  a  harmless  wild  people  ;  but  they  are  mostly 
young  women. 

"  The  beads  they  are  ornamented  with  are  Vene- 
tian; and  they  have  some  Venetian  brass  medals, 
which  the  Venetians  make  for  trade.  The  beads  arc 
worked  wampum-wise.  I  know  not  where  they  got 
the  marine  shells  they  worked  among  their  beads,  nor 


m 


LIFE  OF  JOHN   LEDYARD. 


317 


how  they  could  have  seen  white  men.  I  asked  them 
if  they  would  use  me  well  in  their  country,  if  I  should 
visit  it  ?  Thsy  said,  Yes  ;  and  added,  that  they  should 
make  a  king  of  me,  and  treat  me  with  all  the 
delicacies  of  their  country.  Like  the  Egyptian  wo- 
men, and  like  most  other  savages,  they  stick  on  orna- 
ments wherever  they  can,  and  wear,  like  them,  a  great 
ring  in  the  nose,  either  from  the  cartilage,  or  from  the 
side  ;  they  also  rub  on  some  black  kind  of  paint  round 
the  eyes,  like  the  Egyptian  women.  They  are  a 
sizeable,  well-formed  people,  quite  black,  with  what, 
I  believe,  we  call  the  true  Guinea  face,  and  with  curl- 
ed short  hair ;  but  not  more  curled  or  shorter  than  I 
have  seen  it  among  the  Egyptians ;  but  in  general 
these  savages  plait  it  in  tassels  plastered  with  clay  or 
paint.  Among  some  of  them  the  hair  is  a  foot  long, 
and  curled,  resembling  exactly  one  of  our  mops.  The 
prevailing  color,  where  it  can  be  seen,  is  a  black  and 
red  mixed.  I  think  it  would  make  any  hair  curl,  even 
Uncle  Toby's  wig,  to  be  plaited  and  plastered  as  this 
is.  This  caravan,  which  I  call  the  Darfoor  caravan, 
is  not  very  rich.     The  Sennaar  is  the  rich  caravan. 

"  October  19th. — I  went  yesterday  to  see  if  more 
of  the  Darfoor  caravan  had  arrived ;  but  they  were 
not.  I  wonder  why  travellers  to  Cairo  have  not 
visited  these  slave  markets,  and  conversed  with  the 
Jelabs,  or  travelling  merchants  of  these  caravans; 
both  are  certainly  sources  of  great  information.  The 
eighth  part  of  the  money  expended  on  other  accounts, 
might  here  answer  some  good  solid  purpose.  For  my 
part,  I  have  not  expended  a  crown,  and  I  have  a  better 
idea  of  the  people  of  Africa,  of  its  trade,  of  the  posi- 


318 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


tkm  of  places,  the  nature  of  the  countty,  and  manner 
of  travelling,  than  ever  I  had  by  any  other  means ; 
and,  I  believe,  better  than  any  other  means  would 
afibrd  me.  ^.  >-><^_^  -mh 

"  October  25th. — I  have  been  again  to  the  slave 
market ;  but  neither  the  Jelabs  (a  name  which  in  this 
country  is  given  to  all  travelling  merchants),  nor  the 
slaves  are  yet  arrived  in  town ;  they  will  be  here  to- 
morrow. I  met  two  or  three  in  the  street,  and  one 
with  a  shield  and  spear.  I  have  understood  today, 
that  the  king  of  Sennaar  is  himself  a  merchant,  and 
cmicerned  in  the  Sennaar  caravans.  The  merchant 
here,  who  contracts  to  convey  me  to  Sennaar,  is  Pro- 
curer at  Cairo  to  the  King  of  Sennaar ;  this  is  a  good 
circumstance,  and  one  I  knew  not  of  till  today.  Mr 
Rosetti  informed  me  of  it.  He  informed  me  also, 
that  this  year  the  importation  of  Negro  slaves  into 
Egypt  will  amount  to  twenty  thousand.  The  caravans 
from  the  interior  countries  of  Africa  do  not  M-rive  here 
uniformly  every  year ;  they  are  sometimes  absent  two 
or  three  years. 

<<  Among  a  dozen  of  Sennaar  slaves,  I  saw  three 
personable  men  of  a  good  bright  olive  color,  of  viva- 
cious and  intelligent  countenances ;  but  they  had  all 
three  (which  first  attracted  my  notice)  heads  uncom- 
monly formed ;  the  forehead  was  the  narrowest,  the 
longest,  and  most  protuberant  I  ever  saw.  Many  of 
these  slaves  speak  a  few  words  of  the  Arab  language ; 
but  whether  they  learned  them  before  or  since  their 
captivity  I  cannot  tell.  r       -  »-  ,m  ^f»> 

<<  A  caravan  goes  from  here  to  Fezzan,  which  they 
call  a  journey  of  fifty  days;  and  from  Fezzan  to 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LED  YARD. 


319 


Tombuctou,  which  they  call  a  journey  of  ninety  days. 
The  caravans  travel  about  twenty  miles  a  day,  which 
makes  the  distance  on  the  road  from  here  to  Fezzan, 
one  thousand  miles ;  and  from  Fezzan  to  Tombuctou, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  miles.  From  here  to 
Sennaar  is  reckoned  six  hundred  miles.  I  have  been 
waiting  several  days  to  have  an  interview  with  the 
Jelabs,  who  go  from  hence  to  Sennaar.  I  am  told  that 
they  carry,  in  general,  trinkets ;  but  among  other 
things  soap,  antimony,  red  linen,  razors,  scissars,  mir- 
rors, beads  ;  and,  as  far  as  I  can  yet  learn,  they  bring 
from  Sennaar  elephants'  teeth,  the  gum  called  here 
gum  Sennaar,  camels,  ostrich  feathers,  and  slaves. 

'^  Wangara  is  talked  of  here  as  a  place  producing 
much  gold,  and  as  a  kingdom  ;  all  accounts,  and  there 
are  many,  agree  in  this.  The  King  of  Wangara 
(whom  I  hope  to  see  in  about  three  months  after 
leaving  this)  is  said  to  dispose  of  just  what  quantity 
he  pleases  of  his  gold  ;  sometimes  a  great  deal,  and 
sometimes  little  or  none ;  and  this,  it  is  said,  he  does 
to  prevent  strangers  knowing  how  rich  he  is,  and  that 
he  may  live  in  peace." 

In  a  letter  to  the  Association  are  expressed  his  un- 
diminished zeal  in  their  cause,  the  high  motives  which 
impelled  him  onward,  and  his  utter  indifference  to 
everything  but  the  success  of  his  undertaking.        ■   f 

"  Money !  it  is  a  vile  slave  !  I  have  at  present  an 
economy  of  a  more  exalted  kind  to  observe.  I  have 
the  eyes  bif  of  some  of  the  first  men  of  the  first  king- 
dom on  earth  turned  upon  me.  I  am  engaged  by 
those  very  men,  in  the  most  important  object  that  any 
private  individual  can  be  engaged  in.     I  have  their 


3^ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


approbation  to  acquire  or  to  lose ;  and  their  esteem, 
also,  which  I  prize  beyond  everything,  except  the  in- 
dependent idea  of  serving  mankind.  Should  rashness 
or  desperation  carry  me  through,  whatever  fame  the 
vain  and  injudicious  might  bestow,  I  should  not  ac- 
cept of  it ;  it  is  the  good  and  great  I  look  too ;  fame 
bestowed  by  them  is  altogether  different,  and  is  closely 
allied  to  a  *  Well  done  '  from  God ;  but  rashness  will 
not  be  likely  to  carry  me  through,  any  more  than  timid 
caution.  To  find  the  necessary  medium  of  conduct,  to 
vary  and  apply  it  to  contingencies,  is  the  economy  I 
allude  to ;  and  if  I  succeed  by  such  means,  men  of 
sense  in  any  succeeding  epoch  will  not  bhish  to  follow 
me,  and  perfect  those  discoveries,  which  I  have  only 
abilities  to  trace  out  roughly,  or  a  dispositition  to  at- 
tempt. A  Turkish  sopha  has  no  charms  for  me  ;  if  it 
had,  I  could  soon  obtain  one  here.  Believe  me,  a  single 
*  Well  done '  from  your  Association  has  more  worth  in 
it  to  me,  than  all  the  trappings  of  the  East ;  and  what 
is  still  more  precious,  is,  the  pleasure  I  have  in  the 
justification  of  my  own  conduct  at  the  tribunal  of  my 
own  heart." 

On  the  fifteenth  of  November  he  again  wrote  to 
Mr  Jefferson  as  follows. 

"  This  is  my  third  letter  to  you  from  Egypt.  I 
should  certainly  write  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette, 
if  I  knew  where  to  find  him.  I  speak  of  him  often 
among  the  French  at  Cairo.  But  if  our  news  here, 
with  respect  to  the  affairs  of  France,  be  authentic,  he 
would  hardly  find  time  to  read  my  letter,  if  his  active 
spirit  is  employed  in  the  conflict  in  proportion  to  its 
powers.    It  is  possible,  however,  that  my  compliments 


« 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


321 


may  reach  him,  and  1  desire  it  may  be  through  your 
means.  Tell  him  that  I  love  him,  and  that  the  French 
patriots  in  Cairo  call  on  the  name  of  Suffrein  and 
La  Fayette,  the  one  for  point-blank  honesty,  and  the 
other  as  the  soldier  and  the  courtier.  The  old  vete- 
ran in  finance  and  civil  economy,  Mr  Necker,  is  wel- 
comed to  the  helm. 

"  I  have  now  been  in  Cairo  three  months,  and  it  is 
within  a  few  days  only,  that  I  have  had  any  certainty 
of  being  able  to  proceed  in  the  prosecution  of  my 
voyage.  The  difficulties,  that  have  attended  me, 
have  occupied  me  day  and  night.  I  should  otherwise 
not  only  have  written  to  you  oftener,  but  should  have 
given  you  some  little  history  of  what  I  have  heard  and 
seen.  My  excuse  now  is,  that  I  am  doing  up  my 
baggage  for  my  journey,  and  most  curious  baggage  it 
is.     I  shall  leave  Cairo  in  two  or  three  days. 

"  Perhaps  I  should  not  have  pleased  you,  if  I  had 
written  much  in  detail.  I  think  I  know  your  taste 
for  ancient  history ;  it  does  not  comport  with  what 
experience  teaches  me.  The  enthusiastic  avidity 
with  which  you  search  for  treasures  in  Egypt,  and  I 
suppose  all  over  4s4th  the  East,  ought  in  justice  to  the 
world,  and  your  own  generous  propensities,  to  be  modi- 
fied, corrected,  and  abated.  I  should  have  written 
you  the  truth.  It  is  disagreeable  to  hear  it,  when 
habit  has  accustomed  one  to  falsehood.  You  have 
the  travels  of  Savary  in  this  country.  Burn  them. 
Without  entering  into  a  discussion,  that  would  be  too 
long  for  a  letter,  I  cannot  tell  you  why  I  think  most 
historians  have  written  more  to  satisfy  themselves, 
than  to  benefit  others.  I  am  certainly  very  angry 
41 


1  • 


tftriajf— <-<„-^t^  1 1 


322 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


with  those,  who  have  written  of  the  countries  where 
I  have  travelled,  and  of  this  particularly.  They  have 
all  more  or  less  deceived  me.  In  some  cases  perhaps 
it  is  difficult  to  determine,  which  does  the  most  mis- 
chief, the  self  love  of  the  historian,  or  the  curiosity  of 
the  reader ;  but  both  together  have  led  us  into  errors^ 
that  it  is  now  too  late  to  rectify.  You  will  think  my 
head  is  turned  to  write  you  such  a  letter  from  Egypt, 
but  the  reason  is,  I  do  not  intend  it  shall  be  turned. 

^*  I  have  passed  my  time  disagreeably  here.  Reli- 
gion does  more  mischief  in  Egypt  than  all  other 
things,  and  here  it  has  always  done  more  than  in  most 
other  places.  The  humiliating  situation  of  a  Frank 
would  be  insupportable  to  me,  except  for  my  voyage. 
It  is  a  shame  to  the  sons  of  Europe,  that  they  should 
suffer  such  arrogance  at  the  hands  of  a  banditti  of 
ignorant  fanatics.  I  assure  myself,  that  even  your 
curiosity  and  love  of  antiquity  would  not  detain  you 
in  Egypt  three  months. 

^*  From  Cairo  I  am  to  travel  southwest  about  three 
hundred  leagues  to  a  black  king.  Then  my  present 
conductors  will  leave  me  to  my  fate.  Beyond,  I  sup- 
pose I  shall  go  alone.  I  expect  to  cut  the  continent 
across  between  the  parallels  of  twelve  and  twenty 
degrees  of  north  latitude.  If  possible,  I  shall  write  you 
from  the  kingdom  of  this  black  gentleman.  If  not, 
do  not  forget  me  in  the  interval  of  time,  which  may 
pass  during  my  voyage  from  thence  to  Europe,  and  as 
likely  to  France  as  anywhere.  I  shall  not  forget  you ; 
indeed,  it  will  be  a  consolation  to  think  of  you  in  my 
last  moments.     Be  happy." 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


323 


This  is  the  last  letter,  which  Ledyard  is  known  to 
have  written,  either  to  Mr  Jefferson,  or  to  any  other 
person.  He  wrote  to  the  secretary  of  the  Association, 
probably  by  the  same  conveyance,  stating  that,  after 
much  vexatious  delay,  all  things  were  at  last  ready 
for  his  departure,  and  that  his  next  communication 
might  be  expected  from  Sennaar.  The  Aga  had  given 
him  letters  of  recommendation,  his  passage  was  en- 
gaged, the  terms  settled,  and  the  day  fixed,  on  which 
the  caravan  was  to  leave  Cairo.  He  wrote  in  good 
spirits  and«apparent  health,  and  the  confidence  of  the 
Association  had  never  been  more  firm,  nor  their  hopes 
more  sanguine,  than  at  this  juncture.  Their  extreme 
disappointment  may  well  be  imagined,  therefore,  when 
the  next  letters  from  Egypt  brought  the  melancholy 
intelligence  of  his  death. 

During  his  residence  at  Cairo,  his  pursuits  had  made 
it  necessary  for  him  to  be  much  exposed  to  the  heat 
of  the  sun,  and  to  other  deleterious  influences  of  the 
climate,  at  the  most  unfavorable  season  of  the  year. 
The  consequence  was  an  attack  of  a  bilious  complaint, 
which  he  thought  to  remove  by  the  common  remedy 
of  vitriolic  acid.  Whether  this  was  administered  by 
himself,  or  by  some  other  person,  is  not  related,  but 
the  quantity  taken  was  so  great,  as  to  produce  violent 
and  burning  pains,  that  threatened  to  be  fatal,  unless 
immediate  relief  could  be  procured.  This  was  at- 
tempted by  a  powerful  dose  of  tartar  emetic.  But  all 
was  in  vain.  The  best  medical  skill  in  Cairo  was 
tailed  to  his  aid  without  effect,  and  he  closed  his  life 
of  vicissitude  and  toil,  at  the  moment  when  he  imagin- 
ed his  severest  cares  were  over,  and  the  prospects 


.vv 


324 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDTARD. 


before  him  were  more  flattering,  than  they  had  been  at 
any  former  period.  He  was  decently  interred,  and  all 
suitable  respect  was  paid  to  his  obsequies  by  such 
friends,  as  he  had  found  among  the  European  residents 
in  the  capital  of  Egypt. 

The  precise  day  of  his  death  is  not  known,  but  the 
event  is  supposed  to  have  happened  towards  the  end 
of  November,  1788.  He  was  then  in  the  thirtyeighth 
year  of  his  age. 

So  much  has  been  drawn  from  the  traveller's  own 
writings  in  the  preceding  narrative,  that  nothing  can 
be  added  to  make  the  reader  better  acquainted  with 
the  constitution  of  his  mind,  the  qualities  of  his  heart,  or 
the  characteristics  of  his  genius.  Mr  Beaufoy's  de- 
scription of  him  is  short,  but  descriminating,  and  the 
more  worthy  of  regard^  as  having  been  founded  on 
personal  knowledge. 

*^  To  those  who  have  never  seen  Mr  Ledyard  it 
may  not,  perhaps,  be  uninteresting  to  know,  that  his 
person,  though  scarcely  exceeding  the  middle  size, 
was  remarkably  expressive  of  activity  and  strength  ; 
and  that  his  manners,  though  unpolished,  were  neither 
uncivil  nor  unpleasing.  Little  attentive  to  difference 
of  rank,  he  seemed  to  consider  all  men  as  his  equals, 
and  as  such  he  respected  them.  His  genius,  though 
uncultivated  and  irregular,  was  original  and  compre- 
hensive. Ardent  in  his  wishes,  yet  calm  in  his  delib- 
erations ;  daring  in  his  purposes,  but  guarded  in  his 
measures ;  impatient  of  control,  yet  capable  of  strong 
endurance;  adventurous  beyond  the  conception  <9f 
ordinary  men,  yet  wary  and  considerate,  and  attentive 
to  all  precautions,  he  appeared  to  be  formed  by  Na- 
ture for  achievements  of  hardihood  and  peril." 


!'*. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


326 


ey  had  been  at 
iterred,  and  all 
g[uies  by  such 
tpean  residents 

nown,  but  the 
wards  the  end 
e  thirtyeighth 

raveller's  own 
t  nothing  can 
quainted  with 
ifhis  heart,  or 
Beaufoy's  de- 
Uing,  and  the 
1  founded  on 

r  Ledyard  it 
low,  that  his 
middle   size, 
nd  strength ; 
were  neither 
to  difference 
IS  his  equals, 
inius,  though 
and  compre- 
in  his  delib- 
larded  in  his 
)le  of  strong 
mception  Sf 
ind  attentive 
med  by  Na- 
ril." 


His  letters  afford  convincing  proofs  of  his  kind  and 
amiable  disposition,  gratitude  W*  t6^.benefactors,  hu- 
manity, and  disinterestedness.  This  last  virtue,  in- 
deed, he  practised  to  an  excess.  No  man  ever  acted 
with  less  regard  to  self,  or  on  a  broader  scale  of 
philanthropy  and  general  good.  That  he  finally  ac- 
complished little,  compared  with  the  magnitude  of  his 
designs,  was  his  misfortune,  but  not  his  fault.  Had 
he  been  less  eccentric,  however,  in  some  of  his  pe- 
culiarities, more  attentive  to  his  immediate  interests, 
more  regardful  of  the  force  of  circumstances,  it  is 
possible  that  his  efforts  would  have  been  rewarded 
with  better  success.  The  acts  of  his  life  demand 
notice  less  on  account  of  their  results,  than  of  the 
spirit  with  which  they  were  performed,  and  the  un- 
common traits  of  character  which  prompted  to  their 
execution.  Such  instances  of  decision,  energy,  perse- 
verance, fortitude,  and  enterprise,  have  rarely  been 
witnessed  in  the  same  individual ;  and  in  the  exercise 
of  these  high  attributes  of  mind,  his  example  cannot 
be  too  much  admired  or  imitated. 


THE    END. 


'-  i 


